


Operation Beach Week

by jennycaakes



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beaches, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hot Tub, M/M, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-11 13:08:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11149068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennycaakes/pseuds/jennycaakes
Summary: Clarke never thought that she'd be able to actually get a whole bunch of her fandom friends, spread out across the country, to meet up for a week of vacation on the beach. But somehow it's happened, and none of them ever want it to end.(dedicated to everyone at beach week 2017, love y'all)





	1. Saturday Evening

**Author's Note:**

> *DISCLAIMER* many things based off true events that actually happened to us (ex: our bedroom was FREEZING, we drank mimosas, the house is the same, etc.) but any similarities to like, real people is not intentional! Many actual lines were overheard from various individuals but that's really it. Anything else is a plot point and simply a plot point, because this is a fic and it needs plot. 
> 
> Mostly I just wanted something to remember this wonderful week with these wonderful ladies. If you don't know, a group of bellarkers had this great week where they met up and lived in a house together and wrote fic and got drunk and it was amazing. It's what fandom is all about and it's pure and it's good and I wanted something to encompass that, the fact that fandom is meant to build each other up and to build these great relationships, so I wrote this.
> 
> The premise behind them meeting is because they all love this TV show called Whispers of the Future, which is not a real show, but they reference it a few times so yes.
> 
> Background ships include: Raven/Wells, Maya/Jasper, and Monroe/Harper. I'm primarily a minty writer though so while this fic is meant to be equally bellarke/minty, it will probably end up more minty than not.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it! The biggest and best love to Katelyn who was the heart and soul of beach week. I've been lucky enough to be part of it. <3

Despite the fact that they had been planning this for months and discussing the possibility of it even longer, it was insane to Clarke that they had finally made it here. One, fifteen hour drive later with Raven in her passenger seat, the two of them singing throwbacks down 95, and they finally made it to North Carolina. They were the first two, which was fitting, seeing as Clarke had been the one to put the most planning into this.

“Monty says he and Wells and Monroe are about an hour away,” Raven said, following Clarke down the dock to their first sight of the beach. “Bellamy and Jasper are a little farther out, maybe a few more? Three or four, depending on traffic?” Clarke was listening, of course, but she was more excited to see the ocean. Their house was beach front and they could hear the waves from their bedroom, see the sunrise if they kept their curtains open. “Harper, Maya, Miller, and Murphy are still--”

Raven stopped, bumping into Clarke’s back, and looked up from her phone. Raven sidestepped Clarke with a small smile of her own, gazing out over the Atlantic ocean in silence.

 _They made it_.

What had once been a dream, a fantasy, had slowly been molded and formed into this new reality. By the end of the night, people from all walks of life would be in this one house for one reason and one reason alone: fandom.

It was absurd on a thousand levels but it was also _necessary._  Clarke had started toying with the idea over a year ago after a particularly devastating season finale of _Whispers of the Future_ when she started chatting with her fandom friend Raven about how much _better_ it would be if they could all weep together. The conversation went on for a long time before it shifted into a possible something, a possible house, a possible vacation. It stayed a possibility for a long time before Clarke said _fuck it_ and booked a house in North Carolina.

A month before the week finally arrived, people were still joining the crew.

“This is insane,” Clarke said simply.

Raven had stayed at her house the night before, flying in from the West coast, but to actually be in the presence of one of her best friends that she’d ever known, making this dream a reality? It was insane. And soon more people would be there.

Monty, always able to bring her to tears with his fic. Wells, pointing out the parallels that no one else had noticed. Miller, calling people out on their shitty opinions.

 _Bellamy_.

“If anyone could pull off something like this,” Raven said, swinging her arm up and over Clarke’s shoulder, “of course it would be Clarke Griffin.” But she’d never have been able to do it alone.

* * *

Monty was nervous. “It’s okay that I’m nervous,” he said to Wells who was driving, and Monroe in the back, “right? It’s totally fine.”

“I climbed into a car with two complete strangers,” Monroe chimed from behind her phone where she was browsing Twitter. “So get the hell over your nerves.” Monty laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. He was so nervous. He was finally meeting his best friend, someone he’d known for _years_ and was constantly talking to, in the flesh. Monty Green was finally going to meet Jasper Jordan, and it was going to be absurd.

There were other people he was nervous to meet, of course. Clarke was ridiculously pretty and smart and had been the brains of this whole thing. And Bellamy was always so well put together and _also_ smart and ridiculously handsome. And Miller who had tweets so sarcastic and funny that made Monty double over with laughter while also being insanely attracted to like, every photo of him ever. It wasn’t just Jasper.

“It wasn’t complete strangers,” Wells said evenly. They’d all had a group chat for months now, a group Snapchat too, so they at least knew the basics about one another. Everyone had someone, even if they didn’t all _totally_ know one another. “Do you feel unsafe in my car, Roe?”

“Never,” she called back.

Wells smiled, his eyes darting to Monty who was staring out at the trees that zipped past. “Hey,” he said gently. “You’ve known Jasper for forever,” he said. Longer than Bellamy, longer than Clarke, longer than any of the other people coming on this trip.

“What if it’s different?” Monty worried.

“It won’t be,” Wells said. “You two still have all of the same fandom opinions and you still finish each other’s thoughts and you still are practically related.” Monty ducked his head at that, fighting off his smile. Monty _loved_ Jasper. He’d been there through all the hard times in Monty’s life--his parents getting divorced, another move, figuring out his sexuality--and he’d always stuck around. He was his best friend, his brother, and still he was worried it wouldn’t be enough. They’d been finishing each other’s sentences in the Skype chat for months now. “If something goes wrong,” Wells added, “you can like, hide in my room.”

“Same,” Monroe added.

Monty smiled. “How much longer?” he asked.

* * *

Bellamy could not, for the life of him, figure out why Jasper wanted to listen to _Take On Me_ another time. They’d already listened to it like, fifty times, and they still had a few hours to go, and Jasper was hell bent on listening to it again. He blamed it on Jasper’s nerves, what with meeting Monty and all that, and gripped his steering wheel tight enough to drown it out.

He wouldn’t admit that he was nervous too.

He was excited to see everyone, that was sure, but there were certain people he was more excited about than others. Jasper, for example, was someone he was less excited about. Not that he didn’t love Jasper, Bellamy loved _everyone_ who was coming on this trip to some degree, but Jasper was like that dorky annoying younger brother that liked to get into fandom fights while Bellamy would rather discuss the plot.

Bellamy’s phone chimed another time, muting the music just a touch, and Jasper spun on him to serenade a bit more.

“Can you see who that is?” Bellamy asked to cut Jasper’s singing short.

“We already know it’s Clarke,” Jasper said, reaching for the phone anyway. While Clarke had been the brains of Operation Beach Week, Bellamy had been the heart. He’d been the one to reach out to various corners of the fandom that didn’t feel as though they had a right to attend, reminding them that they did, adding to their numbers and making them feel included.

They’d planned this week together. Clarke, however, was the first to arrive with Raven by her side. Bellamy still had another two hours in the goddamn car.

“From Clarke,” Jasper read out loud. “If you’re not here before the sunset I’m going to smother you in your sleep. It’s insane. This is insane.” Bellamy tried to fight his smile and failed, shaking his head just a bit. “Hello this is Jasper,” Jasper said slowly, each word coming from his mouth as he typed out his responding message. “ETA is roughly… 8pm…” he paused as he was finishing off his thought. “Almost ran out of gas… on the highway…” he went on, “Bellamy got some… on his face…”  

Bellamy shook his head another time. “You’re annoying,” he said.

“We’ve been in this car together for approximately twelve hours,” Jasper said, finishing off the message. Through the AUX, Bellamy heard the message _dwoop_ from sending. “You love me. We’re bonded now.”

“Whatever the hell you say, Jasper,” Bellamy murmured fondly. Jasper reached over then, throwing his arms around Bellamy in the most awkward angled hug ever. “Jasper,” Bellamy said with a laugh. “I’m driving!”

“I’m _happy_!” Jasper said. “We’re just a few hours away from all of our favorite people, Bellamy! Aren’t you happy, too?”

Bellamy laughed another time. “Insanely,” he admitted.

* * *

How Miller ended up the driver of one of the most crowded cars, he did not know. It’s not like he was a particularly _good_ driver. And it’s not like he even had a particularly large _car_. It’s just that of course he was coming up from Alabama and drove through the most states, in which the most number of people could gather at various points along the line.

Murphy in the front seat was asleep, and Harper and Maya were quietly talking in the back. If Miller knew any of them very well, it would’ve been Harper. They’d been Twitter friends for an pretty long time. But Maya hardly knew anyway, so she was being polite, and Miller didn’t really enjoy conversation as he drove.

Murphy snored on.

They were almost there.

He was sure that the girls had noticed, seeing as they were driving through a beach town rather than the long stretches of endless highway that came beforehand, and the fact that the app Miller had pulled up said the arrival time was like, two minutes away, but he didn’t want to wake Murphy. It was a lot easier to stifle his nerves about the inevitable awkwardness of this meet-up if he wasn’t talking about it with everyone else.

“Miller,” Maya said gently, leaning forward. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the quiet girl. “We’re almost there?”

In lieu of answering Miller simply flicked on his blinker, turning in into the driveway of their temporary home.

“No,” he finally said. “We’re here.”

They were the second to last car to arrive, meaning Bellamy and Jasper were still a bit away which was a shame as Miller just wanted to fucking have a beer with his best friend _finally_ , but they were greeted by everyone else who’d already arrived with smiles and hugs. He recognized names and URLs (Clarke made name tags, thankfully, hilariously) but some of the faces were unfamiliar.

“Look who it is,” Raven said, appearing from behind Clarke with her arms wide open to greet Miller with a hug. “The resident asshole has finally arrived.”

“Unsure if you’re talking about me or Murphy,” Miller murmured as he returned her hug. “Nice to see you.”

“You say that as though we’ve seen each other dozens of times before,” she countered.

“Well saying nice to _meet_ you is a lie,” Miller said. “Because I already _know_ you.” He gazed out across the groups of people saying hello, Murphy simply tipping his head at everyone annoyed that he was woken from his nap, Harper hugging _everyone_ , and managed a smile. “Griffin,” he said to Clarke, who was watching, too.

“Yeah?”

“This is going to be insane,” he said.

Clarke grinned. “Yeah.”

* * *

 **From Jasper  
** FIVE MINUTES

 **From Monty** **  
**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Nervous?” he heard. Monty turned, finding Miller leaning against the balcony beside him. After greeting everyone, most people flocked to the beach to see it before the sunset. Jasper and Bellamy were cutting it close. “To meet Jasper,” he elaborated.

Monty shrugged. “No,” he lied.

Even if it wasn’t for the soft orange paper clipped to his shirt that read _Miller_ , Monty recognized him right away. He was a longtime mutual who Monty only followed, originally, because he was _hot_ . Miller rarely posted selfies but when he did? It was great. Monty was a fan. But at one point he’d realized that Miller was following him too, liking the fic that he was posting for _Whispers_ , so Monty reached out.

They weren’t like, Jasper and Monty level close. Or Bellamy and Clarke level close. But they were friendly enough. Truth be told, Miller was _way_ more intimidating than Jasper in terms of Monty meeting the both of them. But that was probably because anything regarding Miller, including just the other man favoriting Monty’s tweets, made Monty’s stomach do twisty things.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Miller said, his voice dropping just a touch, “but I’m kind of nervous to meet Bellamy.”

Monty laughed. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“He’s insanely smart about--fucking theorizing and history and all that bullshit and I’m worried I won’t be able to tolerate his rants in person.” Monty laughed again and Miller smiled, turning to gaze across the ocean. Wells and Raven were out there now, their toes in the water as they conversed. “It’s low level nerves, I’m sure, compared to him meeting Clarke.”

“They’re going to be hilarious,” Monty said. “You’re in that second group chat, right?”

“The one titled _Which Day Will They Kiss_?” Miller asked. “Yeah, Jasper added me last night. And also--it’s crazy that we all have iPhones. Makes group chats easier.”

“Right? But, my money’s on Monday,” Monty said. “Get the first awkwardness of Sunday out of the way and just fall into it then.”

“Nah, I’m leaning for Thursday or Friday. They’re going to pretend that there’s nothing between them until they realize that we’re leaving and they just fucking go for it.” Monty laughed another time, shaking his head fondly.

 **From Jasper** **  
** MONTY ONE MINUTE OMG

“I should head for the front,” Monty said, reading his screen, and Miller pushed himself from the ledge as well. “They’re almost here,” Monty explained.

“I’ll come with you.”

Monty grinned before asking, “Shall we grab Clarke?”

“She’s probably already waiting,” Miller answered.

* * *

Clarke was waiting on the front porch for Bellamy to arrive.

He was the other half of this trip and he was among the last to arrive. It was crazy, okay? They’d spent dozens of nights up until the wee hours of the morning (of _both_ of their time zones) and Clarke was ready to just _meet him_. If it hadn’t been for his endless support and encouragement, there was no way this would’ve taken off.

Raven had commented that Clarke would’ve been the only one to get this done, but that simply wasn’t true. Clarke _needed_ Bellamy.

It wasn’t even just this trip that they’d shared, really. They’d been friends for forever. They hadn’t gotten along at first, that was true, and had been in numerous Twitter fights, but it didn’t last. After season two of _Whispers_ , things had changed between the two of them. Neither one of them could really figure out what had shifted (maybe he realized she was the one who did the fanart that everyone loved?). But suddenly Bellamy was defending Clarke on Twitter rather than shooting her down, and then the two of them were in a group chat with Raven and Monty discussing character dynamics and plot holes, and that was that.

“Told you,” Miller murmured as he stepped out onto the porch, and Clarke wheeled around to see him and Monty exit, the latter of which was laughing. “Hello Clarke,” Miller said.

“Hello Miller,” she returned before twisting to look back at the driveway. “Monty,” she added.

Monty settled by her side just in time for the three of them to watch Bellamy’s car turn down the driveway. “Oh man,” Monty hummed, “it’s happening, it’s really happening.” He moved from the railing and hurried down the steps and, before Bellamy’s car had even really stopped moving, Jasper was jumping out of it and sprinting in Monty’s direction.

“ _Jasper_!” Bellamy shouted from inside the car, a laugh in his voice, but soon Monty and Jasper had flung themselves at one another, holding tight, and none of it mattered.

Clarke and Miller were still on the porch but she turned to him them, gesturing just a little. “This is why we did this,” she said gently. “For things like this.”

Jasper and Monty had parted now, their hands on each other’s shoulders, talking _rapidly_ about this and that already and laughing with so much bright excitement in their eyes it was impossible to understand either of them. Throughout their union Bellamy parked, killing the engine, and pushed his door open. He looked up to the porch, eyes landing on Clarke and Miller, and grinned.

“Made it before sunset as requested,” he called up.

Clarke couldn’t stop her smile even if she tried. She pushed past Miller and hurried down the steps as fast as she could. She hadn’t _meant_ to fling herself at Bellamy the way that Jasper and Monty had, but the closer she got the less she cared about that. Clarke collided with Bellamy so forcefully that there was an _oof_ of surprise, and it took a moment for him to react before winding his arms around her as well.

This was overwhelming.

All of this, generally, was overwhelming, but actually meeting Bellamy took the cake. She nuzzled into his shoulder, trying and failing to stop herself from smiling the way she was, before Miller slowly made his way down the porch steps as well. He smelled like she thought he would, like clean and warm, and his arms around her were so comforting and secure that just this singular moment had been worth it all. Clarke pulled back to look up at Bellamy and he was grinning, too.

“Oh hey,” he said. “Nice to meet you.” Clarke laughed, shoving his shoulder just a bit, and stepped out of the way for him to greet Miller. “Come here, asshole.”

“Aw, it’s great to see you too,” Miller called back before the two closed the distance between one another to hug as well. “Thanks for finally deciding to show up.”

“Yeah, of course,” Bellamy said with a grin.

* * *

After Miller showed Bellamy to their bedroom, Clarke and Raven on the other side of the hall, everyone gathered in the upstairs living room for a formal greeting of sorts. Bellamy moved to Clarke’s side as they stood in the front, looking out across the room of people they’d gathered. Despite the fact that they were here, it still felt like a dream. Bellamy couldn’t even remember how many times Clarke called him in the middle of the night, panicking, because she didn’t think it would work out. And here they were.

Jasper and Monty had settled on the same couch, practically in one another’s laps, with Murphy on the only other open end. Miller had perched himself on the armrest of Raven’s chair. Wells was in the kitchen area while Harper and Monroe had claimed stools, wolfing down pizza that Clarke must’ve ordered in advance, and Maya lingered at the dining room table. There were a few others that Bellamy knew scattered here and there: Atom and Roma and Fox and Bree, and everyone looked happy.

They shared names and URLs and there was laughter and, holy fuck it was happening. That thought just played on a loop. _It was happening, this was happening_.

“There are like, very minimal house rules,” Clarke said once they’d gone around the room. “Knock before opening _any_ door, but especially bathrooms.”

“Don’t go through people’s things,” Bellamy added. “Ever. Murphy.”

“Ugh, whatever,” Murphy responded.

“If you puke,” Clarke carried on, “we are not cleaning it up for you.”

“Every mess you make you’re also in charge of cleaning up,” Bellamy said.

“The thermostat can’t go under 70.”

“Don’t drag sand into the house.”

“And just--be open!” Clarke finished. “This is something super great that we’re doing. Have fun, please don’t fight with each other, etcetera, etcetera.”

“They’re like our parents,” Jasper mock whispered.

“Mom friends,” Monty agreed with a nod, causing Raven to laugh.

Bellamy and Clarke both rolled their eyes. “You’re adults,” Bellamy said to the room. “Just--behave.”

“Yes, Mom,” Miller said from his seat.

* * *

Exhausted from the long day, many people headed right off to bed. Wells was the first to disappear to one of the many bedrooms, that of which he was weirdly sharing with Murphy and Atom, and Raven and Harper and Maya all darted out to the beach to dip their toes in the water.

Monty and Jasper, after three very large glasses of wines, decided to climb into bed as well.

They had their own bedroom, thanks to Bellamy and Clarke’s spectacular planning, and a bed the size of the goddamn sun that they were _definitely_ going to jump on at some point this week. But for now they were tired, and Jasper collapsed on his side with a deep and heavy sigh that made Monty grin.

His best friend in the entire universe was three feet away from him.

“I am so _tired_ ,” Jasper said, swinging his arm over his eyes. “Help. Get the light. I can’t do it.”

“You’re annoying,” Monty said, but still he stood and marched to the lightswitch. “This is the best. I love this house. I want to live here.”

“Die here,” Jasper responded with a grin of his own. Would they ever stop grinning this week? Probably not. They were _here_. “I only know, like, five of us,” Jasper said.

“Your contribution to the fandom is like, memes and shitposts,” Monty told him, sinking back into bed. “You very rarely engage in actual conversation.”

“I converse with you! That’s all that matters!” Monty smiled, propping himself up on his elbow to look at his friend in the now dim-lighting of the room. “Have you talked to Harper yet?” he asked.

Monty and Harper had a brief (very brief) flirtation at one point, but it never turned into anything real. If anything, it made things awkward. They were still friends but they were less likely to respond to one another’s posts or tweets. Harper was great at still leaving comments on Monty’s fics, but Monty struggled to read most of hers. It was weird. But.

“Yeah, we talked,” Monty said.

“Hook up potential?”

“Zero.”

Jasper threw his hands up while groaning, “Ugh, lame!” They were both quiet for a bit before he asked, “Hey, that Maya girl? Do you know her?”

Maya was a bit quiet, perhaps a bit out of place. “She knows Clarke through some like, super small sub-fandom of _Whispers_ ,” Monty said. “She’s super nice. Miller said she keeps to herself--he drove her--but she’s happy to be here.”

“Oh, _Miller_ ,” Jasper said, rolling to face Monty. “Hook up potential?”

Monty huffed. “Zero!” Jasper groaned again, dropping down to the mattress another time. “I’m not here to hook up with people, Jasper,” Monty said with a laugh. “I’m here to write fic. And not get sunburned. And be drunk a lot.”

“Man I’m so good at making mimosas,” Jasper said. “I will make us mimosas in the morning, okay?”

“Yes, good,” Monty said.

“Also I brought weed.”

“Even better,” Monty laughed.

They were both quiet, and Monty was sure they were falling asleep when Jasper turned to him again. “Monty?” he murmured.

“Hm?”

“If this was a fanfic,” he said, his voice drifting off as he fell asleep, “then we’d wake up spooning.”

Monty grinned. “There’s still time.”

* * *

Clarke found herself in the middle of Miller and Bellamy in their bedroom while Raven showered at the end of the night. She wanted company. They’d come all this way for company. She wasn’t going to waste a single moment by herself.

“I’m impressed,” Miller said from his side. “You two actually pulled it off.”

“It’s still only Saturday,” Bellamy said with a yawn. He’d driven the most. He deserved to be asleep. But they could sleep later. That was what Clarke said, anyway, when she stormed into their room just as they were about to fall asleep and flung herself into the bed between the two of them. “The house could blow up, like, tomorrow.”

“Don’t give Jasper ideas,” Clarke teased, to which Bellamy snorted. “This is a good group,” she said, sureness in her voice.

“It’s a good thing Lexa and her crew pulled out,” Miller muttered, causing Clarke to tense him. Not many people knew the whole story. Clarke assumed Miller didn’t, or he wouldn’t have brought it up, but Bellamy did. He twisted his hand then, his fingers, twitching to brush against Clarke’s in silent support. “Who else was it--Echo? She can choke.”

Bellamy snorted another time. “Chill, Miller.”

“Luna and Roan could’ve come,” Clarke said, trying to change the subject. “They would’ve been okay. Anya, too.”

“Whatever,” Miller said, yawning himself. “I’m cool with everyone here.”

“Me too,” Clarke said.

“Me too,” Bellamy echoed, tiredness laced into his voice.

Clarke could still feel it in her bones. This was going to be an amazing week.


	2. Sunday

Miller should’ve slept more, really, but he hadn’t taken a vacation in his life ever and his brain woke him up at 5am as though he had to start getting ready for work. Bellamy on the pillow beside him was drooling. Miller scrubbed his hands over his face and sat up, slowly easing his way out of the bed as he suppressed a shiver.

Their room was fucking freezing.

Miller grabbed a sweatshirt from his bag and crept into the main upstairs living room, his arms wrapped around himself, as he gazed out across the ocean. Their view was fucking awesome. There weren’t any other words for it, really. The windows were wide and open and the sun was starting to rise and the rest of the house was settled in, asleep.

The floorboards creaked as he crossed the room to step out onto the porch and then it was just him and the morning waves and the sound of the seagulls. All of this was still insane.

“I don’t know about this, Nate,” his father had said as he’d loaded the car. He’d managed to go months without telling his father _who_ he was going to the beaches of North Carolina with, but it slipped out at dinner the night before and David Miller was not amused. “You don’t _know_ these people.”

“Yeah,” Miller had muttered as he shut his trunk, “I do. Better than most people, actually.”

That was the thing about the internet. Miller’s generation was very good at navigating it and figuring out who and what was real while David’s wasn’t. That wasn’t David’s fault, exactly, but Miller knew he wasn’t about to walk into a trap.

“It would’ve been the longest and most absurd Catfish ever,” Raven had mentioned the night before.

Still, he figured he should call home. Miller settled down on a plastic white rocking chair, knowing his father would be awake because he was _insane_ , and dialed his number. A few rings later David picked up, sounding pleased that Miller had rung.

“Why are you even awake, Nate?”

“I’m watching the sunrise,” Miller answered.

“Of course you are,” David said with a chuckle. “Listen, I’m glad you’re meeting all of your internet friends. Just be safe, okay? Make good choices.”

“When don’t I do that, Dad?” he asked.

After the short call, Miller sat back and watched the sunrise in silence with a smile.

* * *

Clarke woke up to mimosas being made. She stumbled out of her room, Raven curling into the warm spot she left behind with a groan, and hurried into the living room area where Bellamy was sitting on one of the many stools with his elbows propped up and his chin in his hand. He looked over his shoulder when he heard her door click shut and smiled.

“My room is an ice box.”

“Yours too?” Clarke asked. She shivered, glancing at the thermostat. “Gotta figure that out,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself. Jasper was absurdly awake, dancing back and forth between Murphy, who was making pancakes and eggs, as he prepared their drinks. Clarke settled in the seat beside Bellamy and leaned against his arm. “Oh--wow, you’re warm,” she said.

He laughed. “I’ve been out here for awhile,” he said. “Have to head to Walmart soon, need anything?”

Clarke tugged her stool closer to his so she could lean against him more. He was _much_ warmer than she was. “Probably, yes.”

“For you,” Jasper said, lowering a mimosa in front of Clarke in a pink, plastic cup.

“They’re pretty good,” Bellamy told her as she readjusted herself, still trying to thaw herself out.

“They’re pretty _great_ ,” Monty said from across the room where he was seated in a large arm chair, sipping a mimosa of his own with his eyes closed. It was as though he’d woken up simply to drink this drink and he’d rather still be in bed. “Our room’s cold too. Why must we suffer.”

“Yeah, that’s the word to use,” Murphy muttered, flipping a pancake with ease.

Clarke turned back to look toward the kitchen, her eyebrows furrowed just a bit. The girls, Harper and Maya and Monroe, were probably still asleep as they’d finished off a bottle of wine last night, and Wells liked being _fit_ so he was probably on a run, but.

“Who let Murphy cook?” Clarke asked.

“He volunteered,” Bellamy told her. He reached out then, his large hand stretching across her back and resting on her shoulder. God he was warm.

“Like I would ever let any of _you_ make food for me to ingest,” he said, flipping another pancake with one hand while tending to bacon with the other. “Griffin. Chocolate chips?”

“Um, _yes_.”

“Weather doesn’t look so good tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday,” Bellamy said as Clarke watched Murphy mixing pancake batter, Bellamy’s thumb brushing small circles on her shoulder. “You mentioned maybe seeing Wonder Woman? That’d be cool. Octavia saw it last night and texted me--she loved it. But I’m pretty sure she’s a fan of anything that involves women punching things, whether the story is great or not, so maybe she’s not the best person to listen to.”

“Sorry,” Jasper said as he continued swirling different cups of alcohol around, preparing a second for _someone_ as everyone in the room already had one nearby (including Murphy, who again, was cooking). “Do we have an _itinerary_? You’ve planned our vacation? It’s a vacation!”

“We don’t have an itinerary,” Clarke said, finally taking a sip of her drink. “We just--Jesus, Jasper, this is delicious.”

“Can’t even taste the alcohol,” he said with a grin, pointing finger guns at her. “Aka, you _will_ get plastered before noon.”

“Good lord.” She took another drink. “I was _saying_ ,” Clarke continued, “that we have a few activities we might want to do while we’re here. Nothing intense, Jasper. No worries.”

The sliding glass door opened and Monty sat up in a rush, startled by the sound of it, and Clarke and Bellamy turned to find Miller slipping inside. “What were you doing outside?” Monty asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Been out there since sunrise,” Miller answered slowly. “Our room was fucking freezing.”

* * *

The only real plan Monty had for the entire beach week was to sit by the ocean. He could do many things by the ocean. Sleep. Maybe tan. Probably burn. Think about fic. Write fic. Sleep some more. Be drunk. Admire the ocean and all of her beauty.

So, after noon when he was more awake than before, Monty gathered his things and headed to the beach. Jasper was whining about how he was _definitely_ going to burn because he’d forgotten sunscreen when Clarke arrived, waving a 50 proof in the air, and Monty had finally convinced his friend to join him.

“I’m the one with the umbrella,” Jasper said as he followed Monty out. “Thus, you need me.”

“Raven has an umbrella too,” Monty responded, gesturing toward the beach where one umbrella was already set up. Raven had rolled out of bed, grabbed a mimosa, and headed straight for the beach without much of a _good morning_ to anyone. “I could jump ship.”

“You would never!”

Only about half of the crew had made it to the beach by then. Bellamy was down in the water with Wells while Murphy walked farther and farther down the coastline, his phone up to his ear as he spoke with his girlfriend Emori back home. Harper and Miller were both stretched out on their stomachs, the two of them turned toward each other in quiet discussion, Harper mostly complaining about how the ocean had beaten her up while Miller reprimanded her for trying to swim out and see the dolphins. Raven had a book in her hands.

The wind was insane so it was a bit of an ordeal for Monty to get his beach blanket out, but soon enough he was by Miller’s side with his hands behind his head, staring up at the sun.

“I’m moving here,” Monty said.

Miller turned away from his conversation with Harper and looked toward Monty. “Yeah? To North Carolina?”

“No, to this house,” he said. Miller grinned. “I’m giving up every single one of my real life responsibilities and I’m going to hide in the elevator when they come to clean and I’m just going to live here.”

Miller was still grinning, but now his eyebrows were arched. “There’s an elevator in the house?”

“Jasper and I found it last night after a glass of wine,” Monty told him, causing Miller to laugh.

The radio that Raven had set up was playing some throwbacks (the most current was Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen) and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was great and Monty was going to fall asleep like this. He loved the ocean. He loved his friends. He loved this place. Every few moments he would remember that he was really here and intense, overwhelming happiness would claim him.

Until Jasper shrieked.

Monty’s eyes snapped open and he turned, watching as the wind carried Jasper’s umbrella down the beach.

The radio sang on with a different song. _Come on Eileen, Come on Eileen…_

Monty laughed into his hand as Jasper _tried_ to run across the sand, slipping and falling as he chased after his umbrella. Miller slowly lowered his sunglasses with a smirk, watching Jasper slide here and there.

Wells and Bellamy raced from the shoreline to offer their help, and Monty kept his hand to his mouth, fighting off his laughter at his friend.

“Hey Raven,” Monty said, turning to the girl who paid no mind to the three men now struggling to wrestle the umbrella. “Can I share your shade?”

Raven answered with a grin of her own, scooting over to make enough room.

* * *

“Why does this shrimp have tits?” Murphy asked, pointing to the menu of the restaurant that they had chosen.

“We’re at a place called _Dirty Dicks_ ,” Harper said, her eyebrows raised. “Did you expect anything else?”

“Good point.”

Clarke wasn’t entirely sure how they’d ended up here. Monroe wanted seafood and Maya Googled some things that were close and then suddenly, everyone had piled into the various cars and driven to Dirty Dicks. The day had been long but nice, everyone off doing their own things, a few different shifts at the beach, and generally just relaxing.

“Very classy,” Bellamy murmured, lowering himself into the seat beside Clarke, making sure Miller took the one beside him as well. Across from Miller was Monty, beside him Jasper, and then Raven there as well--meaning she was across from Clarke. “How long do you think until they kick us out?”

“Pshhhh,” Jasper called. “Never. We can behave.”

Miller rolled his eyes. “Of course we can. Will we? Still unclear.”

Clarke shook her head at them. “Maybe _you_ will get kicked out,” she said, gesturing vaguely to the other half of the table, “but I’m going to order a drink, considering I didn’t drive, and stay right here in my seat until I’m finished eating.”

Bellamy reached over then, resting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing. “Have one for me,” he said.

“If you hadn’t driven a goddamn mini van,” Miller said, “that seated the most _people_ , then maybe you could have had one too.”

“We’ll have one later,” Clarke promised. “We deserve a drink.”

“This menu is too small,” Raven said, squinting. “My eyes haven’t been able to focus on anything other than the words _Get Pounded_.”

Bellamy snorted, shaking his head as Raven lifted the menu closer to her face to try and read it.

There was a family nearby that kept glancing at them, their eyebrows drawn together and judgement written all over their faces any time Jasper made a joke about _cock-_ tails and Monty dissolved into laughter.

“You can’t get mad about dick jokes if you take your family to a place called _Dirty Dicks_ ,” Murphy muttered at one point.

The kid with the family was young enough, however, that she didn’t seem to understand. She was small with a mop of curly blonde hair who kept looking at Bellamy, her eyes wide and her smile bright and goofy with the cutest little dimples.

“You have an admirer,” Clarke said, knocking her shoulder against Bellamy’s and tipping her head forward.

It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about but then a smile blossomed on Bellamy’s face and he exaggerated his features, waving at the little girl who giggled in response. Throughout the course of the dinner, Jasper would make cock jokes, and Bellamy would continue to make wide, open faces at the little girl. It was fun to see internet personalities translate to these real people who were here. That the wise, meta-writing Bellamy Blake would beam at the smallest of children, making faces at her to earn her laughter. Clarke kept looking between the two of them, with her lips pressed tightly together, trying to stop her smile from overtaking her entire face, and when Bellamy noticed he simply shrugged.

“I like kids,” he told her.

“So where are you all from?” the server asked as she checked in on their meal.

Clarke looked around the table. “Uh--all over?”

“Everywhere,” Bellamy agreed.

“Cool,” she said with a nod. “Well let me know if you need anything.”

* * *

Wells was the one who suggested a game, which in theory was great but in practice was awful because there were _so many of them_. Maybe they should’ve split the room in half but everyone had gathered in the upstairs living room, sitting in a large oval while Wells pulled out a small box that read _Never Have I Ever_.

“Wait,” Jasper stopped him before he could even pull the top off the box. “There are--fuck how many of us are there? And you want to play a _card_ game? No, no, we’re doing normal Never Have I Ever.” He scanned the room. “Does everyone have a drink?”

 **From Mom** **  
** Of course I’m worried about you,   
Monty! You’re hours away with people   
you don’t even know!

 **From Monty** **  
** mom I’m 24 I think I can make smart   
decisions regarding my physical well being   
I promise I’m not participating in the giant   
orgy currently happening downstairs

“We can use the cards for inspiration,” Clarke said, settling down on the couch beside, of course, Bellamy. Monty pressed his lips together tightly to stop his smirk. “Ten fingers?”

Everyone held up ten fingers, Monty wiggling his as he watched the small (...) bubble pop up that meant his mother was typing, and gnawed at the inside of his cheek. He might’ve still lived at home, but he was like, a real adult. Her concern was nice, but unnecessary.

 **From Mom** **  
** Monty!

 **From Monty**   
it was a joke!

 **From Mom** **  
** FaceTime me later so I can see the   
house please.

 **From Monty** **  
** yeah will do. love you!

“Monty?” Jasper asked gently, and Monty clicked his phone shut. “Did you hear the question?”

“Nope.”

“Passed out with my head in the toilet,” Wells said, reading from the card he’d pulled out of the game box.

Monty shook his head with a smile. “Nah, I’ve never done that,” he announced, watching a few fingers across the room drop. Jasper’s included.

The night carried on like that. Everyone passed the red box around the room and people pulled cards, reading from them, shrieking with laughter at whoever it was that put their fingers down. Murphy, for example, dropped a finger at _wearing a woman’s thong_ , and at least four people put a finger down at _imagined another player naked_. Surprisingly it was was Monroe who won with all of her fingers down first who got out on the question _bought a hotel room just to have sex_.

“Never have I ever joined a cult?” Raven read a card out loud. “Isn’t that what this is?”

“I’m still waiting for the sacrificial murder,” Harper agreed with a laugh.

“There’s still time,” Clarke teased.

“I nominate Murphy,” Jasper chimed, to which Murphy flipped him off.

There were some other good ones though that got Monty knocked down: never have I ever gone to work high (check), never have I ever pretended to be in a car accident to get attention (check), never have I ever done sex stuff in a public place (check) but in the end Monroe swept everyone under the rug. More surprisingly, if possible, was the fact that Murphy had the least amount of fingers down in the end.

It was a nice way to learn different things about the group. It came out that Bellamy had accidentally told a child that Santa wasn’t real, that Raven liked to dance on top of things while drunk, and that Miller had sex with twins (though not at the same time, because like, decency).

Everyone was drinking but Jasper was the only one who took a shot every time he had to put a finger down, so it was no surprise when he just sort of… disappeared.

By the time Monty realized he was gone at least half of the house had gone to bed. A few people were downstairs getting their tarot readings done by a drunk Monroe who’d apparently been doing it for a few years now. Clarke and Bellamy were sitting in the corner, his arm over her shoulder as she held up his phone, the two of them scrolling through Twitter quietly together with soft smiles on their faces, Harper was zonked out on the couch, and Miller was on the phone with someone, laughing quietly.

“Hey,” Monty said softly, and Miller looked up at him. “You seen Jasper?”

“Uh.” Miller moved his phone from his ear. “Went to bed?”

Monty pushed himself from the chair he was sitting on and pounded down the steps, his head a little spinny from his own drink, and went straight for their room. But the bed was empty and the room was quiet. Monty turned, striding toward the bathroom, and fiddled with the handle--locked.

“Jasper?” Monty knocked. There was a noise in response that sounded like an inquiry of sorts rather than a confirmation. “Hey,” Monty knocked again. “You okay?”

“Drink the drunker drinks in life,” Jasper responded.

Monty laughed, pressing his forehead to the wooden door separating them. “You puking?” he asked.

“Define that,” Jasper murmured back.

Monty laughed another time, turning to find Miller enter their bedroom with a bottle of water in his hand. His phone was gone now and he held out the water. “He okay?” Miller asked.

“In theory,” Monty answered, accepting the water bottle. “Thanks.”

“That Miller?” Jasper asked, his voice the weird sort of vibrant that drunk people got when they were trying to make it sound like they weren’t sick. “ _Yo_ , man… I can’t believe you’ve done body shots!”

Miller shook his head, his smile growing slowly at Jasper’s reference to the game. “They’re fun with the right people,” Miller answered. Jasper laughed from the bathroom, but then he was coughing, and--yeah, there it was--more puking. “I’ll go grab some Tylenol,” Miller told Monty, turning back toward the door.

“You don’t have to,” Monty insisted, but Miller rolled his eyes and marched from the room. The moment he was gone, Monty settled on the floor with his back to the bathroom door, resting his head backwards. “Miller’s taking care of you,” Monty said after Jasper flushed.

“Nu-uh,” Jasper said back, “he’s taking care of _you_.”

Monty rolled his eyes but couldn’t fight his smile. He didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t true, probably, but like, an insanely handsome man going out of his way to spend time with Monty? Great thought.

A few minutes passed before Miller returned with a bag of pretzels and a shot glass that didn’t have alcohol but rather three small pills for Jasper. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was shaking his head.

“What?” Monty asked.

“I think Harper’s watching ASMR videos?” he asked, and Monty’s eyebrows shot up.

“What’s that?”

“They’re like, sensory videos,” he elaborated. “They use sounds that you can feel, or something. Had a boyfriend into them a while back.”

“Interesting.”

“I had a fucking heart attack because it sounded like someone was whispering as I passed by her room.” Monty laughed and Miller set the things up on Jasper’s bedside table before lowering himself to the floor beside Monty. “Having fun?” Miller asked.

Monty smiled and nodded. “Yeah,” he answered softly. “Are you?”

Miller smiled, too. It felt rare, like a gift, and Monty couldn’t look at him for too long. “I am,” he confirmed.

* * *

“No, look,” Clarke said, sinking closer into Bellamy’s side as she held up her phone. “It was _this_ moment,” she told him. They’d been cycling through Twitter and Tumblr, pulling up their favorite scenes from _Whispers of the Future_ , having one of their favorite debates: when Senna, the main character, realized that she loved Ellis.

“You’re just wrong,” Bellamy said fondly. “That’s _way_ too early in the series.” Clarke was about to protest when Bellamy shifted, turning his body more to face hers. “Listen,” he said. “We talk about this all the time. And you _know_ that I’m right when I say it was in season two, when they first saw each other after--”

“Ugh, _stop_ it,” Clarke murmured, dropping her phone into her lap and turning back into his side. “Whatever. They love each other either way.”

“They do,” Bellamy agreed.

Then they were just sitting there. And it was nice. It was so nice, Bellamy’s arm draped around her, the distant sound of the waves, the quiet conversations of others echoing through the house. Bellamy twisted his hand, his fingers toying with the ends of Clarke’s hair.

“I’m still in shock,” he said after a beat. “That we’re here.”

“Me too,” Clarke confessed. She was waiting to wake up and be back in her home in Boston, getting ready for work at the goddamn hospital instead of here with friends. With this small, rag-tag family she’d formed through the internet.

Life was weird. It was great.

“How’s your research going?” Clarke asked. “Are you working on that at all this week, or--”

“It’s fine,” Bellamy cut her off softly, “but no, not working on it this week. I might like, binge-read all of Monty’s fics seeing as I’ve been slacking and he’s fucking magic at characterization.”

“Isn’t he?” Clarke agreed.

“And Raven’s video edits too,” he carried on. “And Wells’ parallels.”

“God, I love parallels.”

“And you,” Bellamy added.

Clarke waited a moment for elaboration. “What about me?” she asked.

“Hmm.” Clarke craned her neck up to look at him, waiting for the explanation, but Bellamy had this small dopey smile on his face that made her feel like he wasn’t going to say anything else.

This close she could study the freckles on his face, the ones that danced across the bridge of his nose as though someone had cleaned their paintbrush by flicking it, leaving art behind. And his eyes, fond and welcoming, scanning the room as though trying to convince himself that he was here, too, as though he was also waiting to wake up from a dream. Pictures of Bellamy never did him justice, and even Skype calls or FaceTime hindered him. He was beautiful and warm like the summer sun.

“Bellamy,” she finally said, poking him again.

“Well do you want your obvious magic or like, non obvious magic.”

“I’m not magic,” Clarke said with a laugh.

“Your fanart definitely is,” Bellamy said. “You’re wasting your potential in that hospital you work for, I’ll tell you.”

“Yes, because saving lives is a waste.”

Bellamy laughed, and _that_ was magic, filling the room and creeping beneath her skin and causing her heart to beat faster, faster. “Not what I meant,” he said, looking down at her. “Clarke, what do you want me to say?” he wondered. “You pulled all this off. You’ve brought people together. You care more about other people in the fandom than yourself. It’s its own brand of magic.”

Clarke tried holding his gaze but it was too much, too overwhelmingly genuine and kind and--God, how did she ever deserve a friend like Bellamy Blake?

“Well I couldn’t have done this without you,” she said as she dropped her gaze, hoping her cheeks weren’t too pink.

He smiled.


	3. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *minimal wonder woman spoilers but only just minimal - also go see it it’s amazing and I cried a lot*

Jasper climbed back into bed at approximately 4:26 in the morning after Monty fell asleep while talking to Miller, who was _also_ still in bed having fallen asleep as well. They moved away from their spot at the door after Jasper started puking again.

Whether he was still drunk or just needed affection, Jasper wrapped himself around Monty, startling Monty awake with a laugh, but pulled Jasper close anyway. “Please don’t puke on me,” Monty remembered murmuring, to which Jasper responded, “No promises.”

When Monty woke a second time it was because someone was walking across the creaking floor upstairs. Jasper was still wound around him, snoring and drooling onto Monty’s shirt, but Miller had vanished. Probably woken up in the middle of the night and decided his own bed was more comfortable. Monty eased from Jasper’s grasp, making sure there was still a bottle of water and some Tylenol on Jasper’s bedside table, before making his way upstairs.

Bellamy was methodically moving back and forth, cleaning up the trash that had piled up while Wells and Raven helped.

“Morning,” Wells greeted with a smile. “I made coffee.”

“Yes, please,” Monty said. He scrubbed at his eyes, watching the three of them as they worked. “It’s not even 9am,” he said. “And you’re cleaning?”

“We’ve been here a day and the trash was insane,” Raven said. “Maybe those demons can live like this, but I sure as hell can’t.” Monty laughed, settling into a seat at the counter while Wells passed him a mug. “Jasper alive?”

“Mostly,” Monty said. “Creamer?”

Bellamy moved to the fridge. “French Vanilla or Butter Pecan?”

“Definitely not Butter Pecan,” Monty answered as Bellamy smiled, grabbing the French Vanilla for him. There was music in the background, again something that Raven had put on, and the three of them worked in silence while Monty sipped his coffee. “I should help,” he said at one point.

“No,” Bellamy responded. Monty wrinkled his nose but they shared a smile. “Drink your damn coffee,” he said, “we’re almost done anyway.” Raven spun across the kitchen floor in her socks and grabbed her phone, changing the song, causing Bellamy to groan. “Again, Raven?”

She was already shimmying her shoulders, reaching for another pile of dirty dishes, as the new song played on.

 _Tonight, I’m gonna have a real good time_ _  
_ _I feel ali-i-i-i-i-ive_ _  
_ _And the world, I’ll turn it inside out, yeah_   
I’m floating around, in ecstasy so…

 _“Don’t stop me now,”_ Raven sang to herself. “ _Don’t stop me_ \--”

 _“Cuz I’m having a good time,”_ Monty chimed in, smiling into his mug despite another groan from Bellamy. _“Having a good time!”_

“She’s already played this song like, five times,” Wells said as Monty bopped around himself, humming along with the tune.

“Don’t cramp my vibes,” Raven said, pointing a spoon that she was cleaning off in Wells’ direction. “I’m having a good time.”

“You’re the worst,” Bellamy said with a laugh.

But soon Wells was bobbing along to the song and Bellamy was murmuring the words to himself.

It was awhile before anyone else joined them but by that point, the upstairs half of the house was a lot cleaner than it had been when they went to sleep. Monty knew when Jasper had woken up because his phone started chiming, Jasper going through and liking every tweet from the night before that he’d missed while he locked himself in the bathroom.

 **From Monty** **  
** good morning sunshine do you want   
a mimosa

 **From Jasper** **  
** do you want me to projectile vomit   
because if the answer is yes then sure

 **From Monty** **  
** lmao i’ll bring you some coffee

Monty prepared Jasper a drink before carrying it downstairs to him. Jasper was curled on his side when Monty found him, his phone in his hand. “Last night this bedroom was ten thousand degrees below zero,” Jasper murmured, rolling to face Monty. “Now we’re in a swamp? What and why.”

Monty laughed. “We’ll figure out the thermostat one day, probably.”

“Yeah, Friday night before we _leave._ ”

Monty laughed another time. “How you feeling?” he asked, to which Jasper groaned, reaching for the mug of coffee. “When you disappeared last night I think I assumed you went to get your cards read but then you never reappeared.”

After a long drink of coffee, Jasper lowered his mug. “When I get too drunk,” Jasper announced, “I run off like a dying dog flees to the woods before succumbing to the sweet, sweet sound of release so no one has to take care of me and my shame.”

Monty sat on the edge of the bed, shaking his head a bit but still smiling.

“You’re so weird.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

By the time Clarke made it out of bed, most everyone else was awake. She walked out of her room to find five different people trying to open a can of beans with a knife.

“ _No_ ,” she announced loudly. “No, no--this is not happening.”

Bellamy looked over his shoulder with a tired smile on his face. “Murphy’s afraid of the can opener.”

“I’m not getting fucking rust in my food,” he announced loudly.

“We have another can opener!” Clarke shouted, rushing forward.

“No one can figure it out,” Bellamy told her as she pried her way through the crowd to grab the knife.

“Got it!” Monty announced with a grin, popping the lid off. Clarke let out a long sigh, lifting her hand to her forehead. “Chill out, _Mom_.”

“Don’t,” she said tiredly, and Monty laughed as he passed the open can to Murphy. Bellamy motioned to the open seat beside him and Clarke lowered herself down, rubbing at her eyes. “Can I?” she asked, reaching for his mug, and Bellamy nodded.

“Aw,” Monty said, hopping up to sit on the counter. “So domestic.”

Clarke ignored him, greedily drinking the coffee. “It’s cloudy,” she murmured.

“Yeah. We’re leaving for Wonder Woman at 4,” Raven announced. “We need to give people time to recover. Buy your tickets now.”

That’s how the morning was spent, everyone scattered around the house just sort of doing their own thing. The rain came in after a bit and Jasper unearthed himself from his cave to sit outside and watch it with Wells and Monroe and Monty brought out his laptop to finish one of his dozens of fics that was waiting for an update. Clarke kept looking for something to clean but it appeared that Bellamy had taken care of that, so instead she disappeared to her room to grab her drawing tablet instead.

She was never a big fan of drawing while other people were around but everyone was doing their own thing, so she settled on the couch and began. She’d just finished a Jax/Rami piece and someone in her inbox had requested Senna and Ellis so she started working on an old piece she’d began but never finished. It was one of her favorite moments from the season, the same moment that Bellamy had been talking about the night before when their favorite characters reunited.

They were hugging and Senna had her face buried into Ellis’ neck and he was holding her as though she was his entire world. Before she knew it she’d almost finished the piece and was just adding highlights here and there, stray wisps of Senna’s dark hair as they clung to one another, and the room was silent.

When Clarke looked up, breaking her concentration, she realized half the room had perched on the kitchen stools behind her. Monty was watching, his lips parted in amazement, and Raven was watching, an impressed smirk on her face, and Wells was watching, fascination in his eyes, and Bellamy was watching, silent.

“Magic,” he reminded her gently.

Clarke felt her entire body flush.

* * *

With Wonder Woman tickets purchased online, the gang headed out around 4pm. Monty veered toward Miller’s car and Jasper was on his tail, walking beside Maya as they discussed their excitement about seeing the movie based on some reviews they’d read earlier in the day. With everyone heading to the back seats, Monty went straight for the passenger one and climbed in the second the door was unlocked.

It took a bit for everyone to get settled and Miller kept his eyes outside, scanning to make sure everyone had a ride, before pulling his own door shut.

“You, uh, left last night,” Monty said as he buckled his seatbelt. Miller started the car without responding. “Woke up and you were gone.”

“Three’s a crowd,” Miller murmured. “Everyone buckled?” he called to the back, waiting for the affirmative before shifting the car into reverse. “My bed’s comfier than yours,” Miller added. “No hard feelings.”

Monty nodded, but he wanted to say more. Jasper in the back was chatting with Maya, the smile on his face crazy bright for someone who claimed to be hungover, and everyone else was on their phones. Monty waited a beat. “Thanks,” he decided on.

“For?”

“Helping with Jasper,” Monty told him. Miller’s eyes flickered over to Monty before returning to the road. “It was nice of you.”

“Yeah, I radiate niceties,” Miller responded, causing Monty to laugh. “Don’t worry about it,” Miller said as a smile found his face. “Just looking out.”

“For me?” Monty asked. “Or for Jasper?”

Monty felt his heart literally stutter in his chest as Miller’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Uh…” Miller trailed off, switching lanes as his mouth twitched into a smirk. “Jasper, of course.” Monty heard the sarcasm in Miller’s voice and felt warmth creep onto his cheeks before he could stop it.

* * *

Bellamy glanced at Clarke another time, finding her still staring out the window as they zoomed down the highway back toward their beach house. In the back everyone was excitedly buzzing about the movie and Bellamy had to admit--it was fucking awesome. Not that he’d ever doubted Wonder Woman would be anything less than amazing, but he hadn’t been prepared for it to be just _so_ good.

“Clarke…?”

“I will never be able to experience that for the first time again,” she answered, still staring out the window. She spun around after a moment to look at him, and it was hard for Bellamy to decide if he wanted to stare back or keep his eyes on the road. “That was amazing, Bell.”

“I know,” he said with a smile.

“Like. _Amazing_.” Clarke shook her head. “She walked across No Man’s Land,” Clarke said. “Because she’s a _woman_ and she _could_.” Bellamy laughed, turning his attention back to the road. “God--and Steve? Oh my God. I just.”

“And the like, dozens of fandom parallels?” he offered.

“I _know_ ,” Clarke gushed. “Good _lord_ there were so many!” Clarke sighed loudly, turning back to look out the window while Bellamy’s smile lingered. “I’ll just never be able to experience it for the first time again and that’s supremely depressing.”

“Supremely.”

* * *

Miller’s car went straight from Wonder Woman to the liquor store, despite the fact that the house was _stocked_ with alcohol, because they needed to get drunk. Monty, repeatedly said, “I can’t wait to be drunk after that. Oh my God. I need to be drunk.” Multiple times. So to the liquor store they went, and from there back to the house.

Murphy had started on dinner, again refusing anyone’s help. Tonight was pasta and upon climbing up the stairs Miller’s stomach rumbled. It smelled _excellent._

Wells was on the couch beside Raven, her legs propped up on his lap and his book spread out across her legs as she rambled on about the movie and he nodded, that steady smile of his on her face. Monty brushed past Miller, Monty’s fingers smooth against his own. Miller swallowed, his attention focused more on Monty now than anything else.

Not that that wasn’t the case before, but whatever.

It wasn’t Miller’s fault that Monty was exactly his type. Fucking adorable and fucking smart and fucking talented. But again, whatever.

 _You’re just here for a week_ , Miller reminded himself, striding off to the kitchen to pester Murphy anyway. _There’s no use_.

* * *

The storm had been rolling in on their drive home from the movie, but by the time everyone had a bowl of pasta in their hands the lightning was striking out across the ocean in bright, entrancing flashes. Bellamy took his food on the porch and sat beneath the awning making sure not to get rained on as the lightning moved this way and that.

The sliding glass door slid open out and walked Raven and Miller with bowls of their own, and Bellamy moved to the edge of the picnic table he was sitting on so there was room for the both of them.

No one spoke. They just watched the waves and ate their pasta, smiles on their faces.

* * *

It was no surprise that after dinner everyone started drinking. Again, there was an insane amount of alcohol in the house and at least half of everyone was still emotional about Wonder Woman.

It started with shots, everyone lined up against the kitchen counter, and eased into mixed drinks. Monty noticed _right away_ that Jasper was taking it a lot easier than the night before. He also noticed that Jasper stayed perched on Maya’s chair by the window, the two of them engaged in a conversation that had the both of them smiling.

When Monty caught Jasper’s eye he made _a face_ , and Jasper grinned in response before shaking his head just a touch.

 **From Monty** **  
** hook-up potential????

 **From Jasper** **  
** I’M ON MY GAME LEAVE ME   
ALONE

“Cute,” Miller murmured.

Monty held his phone to his chest and whirled around to face Miller who was leaning against the counter with his hip. “Don’t read over my shoulder,” Monty said.

His mouth twitched into a smile. “Sorry.” Miller’s eyes darted over to Maya and Jasper. “But it is.”

“They don’t live all that far apart, actually,” Monty said, dropping his voice and shooting the two of them a glance. “So it could, like, hypothetically work.”

“Hypothetically.”

“I mean anything could work if enough effort is put into it,” Monty said, lifting his drink to his lips. “You know what I mean?” It took a moment but soon Miller was nodding, and if Monty was a little more sober he might have realized that Miller’s gaze was lingering on his mouth.

Monty was just about to say something else in support of Maya and Jasper when Murphy belched loud enough to send the rest of the room quiet. “When I finish this beer,” he said, holding up his bottle, “we’re playing spin the bottle.”

“ _Yes!_ ” Raven cheered.

“I’m not participating, as I have a girlfriend,” Murphy continued to announce. “But Emori bet me twenty bucks I couldn’t get you all to do it, and I like to win. Who’s in?”

* * *

Monty ended up on the floor between Clarke and Wells, surprised that the both of them were actually participating. There were very few straight people at beach week, so kissing whoever whenever didn’t seem to be much of a problem anyone was experiencing.

“I’ve never actually _played_ spin the bottle before,” Clarke said.

“Okay, Miss ‘I Can Be Fun’,” Wells murmured from his spot. Clarke leaned over Monty to give him a shove while Raven, across the room, laughed wildly.

It started normal enough. Everyone was pretty drunk by the time they started, Murphy perched on the kitchen counter as though reigning over his kingdom, on the phone with Emori when the bottle spun for the first time. Either Raven had _really good_ aim and wanted to smooch Clarke, or they were just lucky.

Most of the kisses were quick, and most of the room was constantly cheering. Wells and Bellamy kissed then Monroe and Atom and then Harper and Jasper and then it was Monty’s turn.

The _ooooh_ that filled the room as the bottle spun got louder and louder as the bottle slowed, and Monty was feeling a little delirious. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was drunk or because he was nervous about who it was slowly but surely landing on, but eventually it stopped, pointing at Nathan Miller, a dangerous smile on the man’s face.

Miller licked his lips. Monty’d already told the room that he was bi, so that wasn’t a big deal. But in Never Have I Ever the night before he’d also admitted that he’d never kissed a guy. Not that he needed to hook up with a guy to know he was bisexual, okay, that was a debate he’d had with himself like a billion times. But everyone _knew_ that he was about to have his first kiss with a boy.

Miller scooted across the circle on the floor toward Monty while Monty tried not to fall over himself as he moved toward him as well. “Ready?” Miller asked. Monty licked his lips too, nodding. Miller had the most radiant smile. “Cool.”

When they kissed, the room erupted with cheers. Monty wanted to say that it wasn’t anything special but--fuck, it _was_. The scruff was an entirely new sensation and Miller’s mouth was fucking fantastic. It wasn’t just a peck, no one had been giving short kisses the whole night and Monty knew they wouldn’t be the ones to start, but just as it started getting good, _hot_ , Miller pulled away grinning.

“Did I pass?” Miller asked as various people clapped and others laughed.

“Pretty sure I’m the one who needed to be evaluated,” Monty said.

Miller’s eyes were dark, also dangerous, but God what a smile he had. “Then yeah, Monty,” Miller said with a nod. “You passed with flying colors.”

As Monty eased back into his spot in the circle Wells thumped him happily on the back while Jasper’s grin across the circle was gigantic. Monty was mostly still trying to figure out what had happened.

While it wasn’t a short kiss, it also wasn’t super long. But it was long enough that Monty could recognize he wanted more. Long enough that Monty considered twisting his fingers into Miller’s shirt and dragging him closer. Long enough that Monty wanted to slip his tongue into Miller’s mouth and _take_. Long enough that even when they’d settled back down, when the bottle had been passed onto the next player, Monty was still looking in Miller’s direction.

As though Miller knew Monty was waiting for something, he winked.

Monty went to fumble for his phone, he needed to like, text his home friends or _something_ , but then the room fell silent.

Monty looked up to see where the bottle had landed.

Clarke, beside him, had been the one to spin it.

It was currently pointing at Bellamy.

* * *

It wasn’t that Bellamy didn’t want to kiss Clarke.

In fact, now presented with the opportunity, he wanted to kiss Clarke an insane amount. He’d thought about it a few times before, toyed with the possibility of _maybe_ something happening between the two of them this week. He’d thought about it on the nights they stayed up late on Skype, he’d thought about it when she’d Snapchat him after a long day, he’d thought about it after endless conversations on Tumblr about fandom culture and the beauty of it.

Bellamy liked Clarke. He liked talking to her and listening to her talk, and he liked her steady presence by his side, and he liked the furrow of her eyebrows as she worked out a problem, and he liked _her_.

This was just not how he wanted this to happen.

He didn’t want to kiss Clarke in the middle of a game of spin the bottle. He didn’t want to kiss Clarke when everyone had spent the entire day drinking. He didn’t want to kiss Clarke in front of all of these people, their eyes trained on them waiting for something to _happen._

Miller had told him about the separate group chat the night they’d arrived, the one betting on Bellamy and Clarke and feelings.

“Just figured you should know,” Miller had said, and Bellamy nodded in thanks.

But now it was happening, and it wasn’t happening the way Bellamy _wanted_ it to, and Clarke was looking at him with something in her eyes likened to the color of the sky on a clear, summer morning.

“Well okay then,” Wells said with a slow nod. “You both ready?”

“Uh-huh,” Clarke said.

“Sure,” Bellamy nodded.

It was probably one of the first times in the entire week that they weren’t sitting beside each other so Bellamy had to either stand or scoot across the circle to Clarke. While he was debating between which was easier to do, the silent room was filled with the sound of puking.

Everyone froze. Any feelings of being buzzed were gone in an instant.

“It’s not me this time!” Jasper shouted, leaping to his feet. “It’s not me this time!”

Bellamy was standing at once, following Roma who was pointing toward the nearest bathroom, and the room dissolved into murmurs of conversation. “Bree,” Roma called after him.

Atom followed after Bellamy with a look of concern on his face as well. Thankfully Bree had ended up in one of the bathrooms where the door _didn’t_ lock so Bellamy was able to ease his way in. There was vomit everywhere.

“Oh good God,” he muttered to himself. He wheeled around. “Atom, water?”

“Got it.”

“Send Clarke,” he added. But of course the moment Atom was out of view, Clarke was there. “Remember when we said we weren’t taking care of anyone?” Bellamy said softly.

“Knew it would happen eventually,” Clarke murmured. “Grab me a cool rag?” she asked, pushing past him into the bathroom. “Bree?” Clarke lowered herself beside the girl carefully, avoiding the vomit, and brushed Bree’s hair from her face. “Hey, can you answer me?”

“Mm.”

“Yeah, okay sure,” Clarke grumbled as Bellamy walked away.

Turned out there’d be no kissing for the two of them that night.

* * *

“There you are,” Raven murmured as Clarke finally collapsed into bed. She felt gross. She knew it wasn’t her job to clean up after everyone but if they left the bathroom the way they had then the entire house would’ve stunk by morning. “You smell gross.”

“I _know_ ,” Clarke whined. “I could’ve kissed Bellamy but you know what happened instead?”

“I mean I was there,” Raven said. Clarke groaned, grabbing a pillow and pulling it over her head. She needed to shower, like, _seriously_ , but she was also just insanely tired. “So that’s a thing you wanted to do, then?” Raven asked. “Make out with Bellamy?”

Clarke threw the pillow off of her face. “Who said that?”

“You did. Like six seconds ago.”

“ _No_ ,” Clarke said as she sat up. Raven’s face was very unamused in the dim lighting of their room. “No! I was--no,” Clarke hurried. That’s not what she meant. “When you compare the two things that were in motion,” she said slowly, widening her arms to explain, “which was spin the bottle versus playing doctor, I’m just saying I _could’ve_ been playing spin the bottle.”

“That’s not what you said,” Raven said, pointing at her. “You said _I could’ve kissed Bellamy_.”

“No!”

“You literally just said it!” Raven told her, finally laughing. “Clarke I physically heard it with my ears. Are you telling me that my ears are wrong?”

“I’m just--that isn’t what I _meant_ ,” she insisted, but Raven was smirking. She crossed her arms over her chest and Clarke mimicked the motion trying to make her point more correct, but she very rarely won arguments with Raven. Raven was just always _right_ , and she held her ground no matter the topic. “I’m going to shower,” Clarke announced, pushing herself out of bed.

“Alright Future Mrs. Blake,” Raven said as Clarke hurried away.

_“No!”_

Raven’s wicked laughter followed her.

* * *

Jasper was already snoring, but for some reason Monty couldn’t fall asleep. Instead he was on Miller’s Instagram, a few months back, his lips puckered as he scrolled. He was being insane. This was insane, right?

 _This whole week is insane_ , Monty thought. He’d thought it a billion times before, just today alone. But he hadn’t thought about Miller like this. _It’s just because you kissed_ , Monty reprimanded himself. _You kissed and he’s handsome and he makes you smile_. But that wasn’t entirely true. Bellamy was  _insanely_ hot and Monty wasn’t daydreaming about making out with _him_. And Murphy and Atom and Jasper were all here too, funny enough to make Monty smile, close enough to become a possibility, and yet his thoughts lingered on Miller.

He thought about the times that Miller had gone through Monty’s Twitter and favorited all of his tweets. The way the two of them had a Snapchat streak long before the Beach Week group Snap had been created. The way Miller would reblog Monty’s selfies with tags like #Okay Monty, and #God I’m Gay.

Monty’s phone buzzed and he dropped it. “Ah!” he shouted.

Jasper sat up in a rush. “Wha?”

“Nothing!”

Jasper was still sitting up thought, scrubbing at his eyes. “Wha-happen?”

“ _Nothing_ ,” Monty said again. “Go back to sleep!”

 **From Miller** **  
** Just finished your Jax/Rami soulmate   
AU and wanted to let you know that it   
was fucking fantastic.

Jasper squinted at the brightness of Monty’s screen before a grin bloomed on his face. “Is that Miller?” he asked. “Why are you texting Miller at 3 am?”

“I’m not!”

“ _Ooh-la-la_ ,” Jasper hummed, reaching over and pushing Monty playfully. “Get it!”

“Stop!”

 **From Monty** **  
** why are you still awake go to   
bed!!!!

 **From Miller** **  
** Your writing is too good to put   
down, shut up.

 **From Miller** **  
** And you answered me, so…?   
You go to bed.

 **From Monty** **  
** if you didn’t leave a review i’m   
gonna be mega pissed

 **From Miller** **  
** I’m not a heathen.

“Whatcha talking about?” Jasper asked, still waking himself up. “Your kiss? Tell me you’re talking about the kiss. Are you going to hook up with Miller this week?”

“ _No_ ,” Monty said firmly. “To all of the above.” But as he said it his lungs felt too small and something inside of him cracked. “It’s not going to happen.”

“Oh it is _going_ to happen.”


	4. Tuesday

Bellamy was barely awake in the morning when he climbed out of bed and stumbled down the stairs to check on Bree. He’d meant to stay up with Clarke all night but before he knew it his alcohol caught up with him and Miller was pushing him to their bedroom demanding he get some sleep. He’d been up early after all and then suddenly it was 3am and Bree was still puking.

He knocked quietly on her door and pushed his way in, finding Fox asleep in Roma’s bed who was beside her, sitting up and squinting while Bree was still zonked. “Hey,” Bellamy said gently. “Just wanted to make sure everyone was still alive.”

Roma laughed. “Barely, but we’re good. Thanks, Bell.”

“Get some more sleep,” he told her before heading back upstairs. His next stop was Clarke, and while he knew that she would be annoyed if he woke her, he also wanted to make sure her doctoring hadn’t killed her in the middle of the night. He knocked gently on her and Raven’s door, hearing a soft mumble before pushing it open. “Clarke?”

Clarke and Raven were spooning in bed and Bellamy laughed as they both looked up at him.

“How’re you awake?” Clarke rasped.

“I wasn’t taking care of Bree all night,” he answered.

Clarke opened her arms and gestured. “C’mere.” She and Raven wiggled across the bed, making room for Bellamy, and soon the three of them were all snuggled in bed together. “We can’t let the kids drink too much,” Clarke murmured, nuzzling into Bellamy’s chest. “We’re in charge.”

“I _know_ ,” he murmured back. Clarke’s hand was curved over his hip and her eyes were closed and it was fine that Raven was on the other side, because Bellamy was happy, and Bellamy was warm. “Why is your bed more comfortable than mine?” he asked, letting his eyes fall shut.

* * *

When Clarke awoke in the morning for a second time, Bellamy was still there, but now Raven had left. Clarke knew it was probably a little strange that she and Bellamy were wound around one another, his arms cradling her while her ankle twisted with his, but half-asleep she couldn’t bring herself to care that much. What she did notice, however, was the fact that Bellamy’s fingers were gently teasing the ends of her hair.

“Bell?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

“Mm.”

“You’re awake?” Clarke pulled back just a little bit to look at him and found his eyes open, any trace of sleep gone. “You didn’t have to stay,” she said.

“You needed more sleep,” he answered. “Didn’t want to disturb you.” Clarke hid her smile in Bellamy’s chest, laughing as he tugged her closer.

* * *

Mornings were Miller’s favorite part of the week. Everyone was stumbling around, half asleep, trying to figure out if they’d rather drink coffee or alcohol, and there was something soft about it. About this group of people slowly gathering in the same space, sleepy smiles on their faces and quiet good mornings on their lips.

When Monty made his way up the stairs, his hair disheveled and sticking up in all directions, Miller had to look away. Monty was not _allowed_ to make him feel things. Any things. At all. No things whatsoever. But of course Monty beamed at him, the embodiment of the sun, and crossed the empty room to him.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning,” Miller responded.

“So,” Monty settled into the seat beside Miller at the kitchen counter, despite the fact that _the entire room was empty_ , casting a glance over his shoulder to make sure no one was in earshot. “Um, Jasper brought weed.”

Miller barked out a laugh. “Yeah?”

“This is me inviting you to smoke with us today.”

“Wow, such a generous invitation,” Miller said with a grin. “Does Clarke know?”

“No, and neither does Bellamy, so you can’t tell him because he’ll tell her and then we’ll get yelled at.” Miller laughed again, the sound of it more fond than mocking. “Are you in? You can say no. I know your dad’s a cop, or whatever.”

“Sure, Monty,” Miller said. His grin was sharp and Monty’s chest suddenly felt like it was hot soup. “When and where?”

* * *

By the time Clarke managed to actually get out of bed, she’d figured out that Raven had moved to the beach with Wells and Harper. There was also a text that read something like _you’re welcome_ , but it was way too polite and not sarcastic enough to come from Raven Reyes.

Bellamy was still dozing, looking much younger in bed beside her than he did when he was awake. These various fandom nerds were _not_ their children, but she had a feeling the two of them would be earning a few gray hairs by the time the week was over. Bellamy deserved sleep, and their angle had shifted since the time she’d woken up earlier, so it was a lot easier to climb out of bed without disturbing him.

She grabbed some clothes from her suitcase and darted into the bathroom to change, unsurprised that Bellamy had roused himself in the few moments she’d been gone and was currently sitting up in her bed.

“Those are real clothes,” Bellamy noticed.

“Wow, great eyes.”

He laughed. “Are you not going to the beach today?” Bellamy asked as Clarke tugged on a denim pullover before admiring herself in the mirror. “Did you get burned?”

“Nah. Just wanted to draw some today,” she told her. “Maybe sit on the porch for a bit.” They were on vacation after all, which meant she shouldn’t be doing things just to do them. Clarke definitely appreciated the sight of Bellamy shirtless by the shore, but laying out to tan wasn’t really her thing. “Why?”

Bellamy shrugged, pushing himself to sit up. The sight of him with his sleep-mussed hair on Clarke’s side of the bed was doing funny things to her chest. Mostly she just needed to get out of this room a bit faster than she currently was. “I thought I might walk down to the pier that we can see,” Bellamy said. “Was going to ask if you’d want to come.”

Clarke looked at him in the mirror, finding hope glistening in his eyes. “Sure,” Clarke answered. “We can do that. Now?”

“I’d like to put food in my body first,” Bellamy said with a laugh. “Maybe half an hour?”

* * *

After slathering his shoulders with sunscreen, as Bellamy didn’t really think that he needed any more freckles, Bellamy found Clarke on the porch where she was adding details to another piece, a picture of the crew from _Whispers of the Future_ at the beach that had all of the main characters.

When he told her that her work was magic, he truly believed that. Clarke was incredibly talented, a great artist who--if given more time to work on her pieces rather than having to squeeze in as much work as she could in small increments--could really do something with them. Clarke claimed it was mostly just a stress reliever for her though so Bellamy never pushed. He didn’t mean to stare from over her shoulder as she worked on her craft, currently adding different shades of blue to the waves of the ocean, but it was mesmerizing.

He shifted on his feet and the floorboards creaked, causing her to look over her shoulder. “Hey! Ready?”

“Yeah.” He dipped his head. “I love that,” he said, gesturing to her work.

Clarke grinned. “Don’t tell the others,” she said. “I’ve kind of been working on it for a while. I want to get prints made, give them out to everyone.” She hit some buttons to save her work before gathering her things to take back inside. “I mean it is why we’re here, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Bellamy agreed. He waited on the porch for her to take stuff to her room but then the two of them set off down the stairs, toward the shore to walk toward the pier.

It wasn’t all that far but Bellamy had been wanting to walk to it since he realized it was close enough. He’d told Miller that they were leaving, that they might be gone for a bit, and quietly put him in charge. The questioning look on Miller’s face after Bellamy told him he and _Clarke_ were going on a walk couldn’t be answered, but Miller never actually put anything into words so it was probably fine. Bellamy and Clarke were friends. They were allowed to take walks together. It was a totally normal beach week thing to do.

The best thing about it was that it wasn’t awkward for even a second. They talked about how things were going in the house and they talked about the sand beneath their feet and they talked about their favorite TV show and how it had managed to bring the two of them together.

“I used to see your fanart all the time,” Bellamy said as they slowly made their way down the beach. “I didn’t realize it was you for like, ever.”

“Back when you and I didn’t used to get along?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah, then,” Bellamy said with a laugh. “Your Tumblr URL and Twitter URL were different so I didn’t put two and two together that this fan artist that I like--adored, was this girl on Twitter who I was constantly bickering with.”

Clarke laughed too, shaking her head. “What were we even fighting about back then?” she asked.

Bellamy tried to remember, but it felt so pointless, so _unnecessary_ at this point that it didn’t even matter. They’d come so far since then. “Who was considered the better character, I think,” Bellamy said. “I mean they’re all great,” he added. “But we wanted more screen time for different people.”

“Ah, right, right.” She shook her head another time. “Dumb thing to fight about. They all deserve more screen time.”

“They do,” Bellamy agreed.

“No, but I liked your stuff on Tumblr too before I realized it was you. That one meta you wrote about time travel and feminism was like--amazing.”

“I had my girlfriend at the time read it over for me a dozen times before I posted it,” Bellamy said. Gina never cared about _Whispers_ but she’d read over the meta easily. “Wanted to make sure I wasn’t misspeaking or overstepping or anything.”

“No, yeah, it was great.”

Bellamy sunk into the sand a bit, the waves making it harder to walk. “Honestly I love that we were fans of each other.”

“Yeah,” Clarke agreed, “catch me spearheading the Bellamy Blake fan club.”

“About time. I’ve been president of the Clarke Griffin one for months, now.”

The smile that shone on her face after that was enough to make Bellamy’s lungs give out. That was the thing about Clarke. Not only was she crazy beautiful but she tried her best to be kind, to be friendly, to make things work. She made Bellamy smile and their back and forth was so _easy_. The fact that they’d never met before this week didn’t mean a damn thing because it felt like they’d known each other forever, like they were always supposed to meet, somehow.

“Clarke,” Bellamy started.

He slowed his walk, ready to tell her all of this, when a wave came from nowhere. Where they were at on the shore had them closer to the crashing of the waves than they’d realized and Clarke, shorter than Bellamy and closer to the water, was knocked over as the wave came up to above her knees.

“Ack!” Clarke stumbled backwards and fell into the water while Bellamy reached for her, hurrying to catch her before she landed completely on her ass. His hand circled around her forearm and, despite the fact that she was soaking wet, at least she hadn’t fallen in completely. He helped right her and Clarke huffed, looking down at herself with a laugh. “Dammit! Fucking ocean.”

Bellamy managed a smile. “You okay?”

“Walk on the other side of me,” she nearly demanded. Neither of them noticed that Bellamy was still holding her wrist, keeping her close to him. “You’re the shirtless one,” she said, slowly looking up, “you can fall in.”

But they _were_ close. Close enough that when their eyes met Bellamy was thrown by the intimacy of it. He blinked a few times as she pulled her hand back to her side and took a step back, a pink that couldn’t be blamed on the sun claiming her cheeks.

“Thank you,” Clarke managed, starting down the beach again. Bellamy shook his head to dislodge his thoughts. “For keeping me dry.” She smiled again, wide enough that Bellamy couldn’t help but stare. “Or well, trying.”

* * *

“No one’s going to come to the front porch,” Miller said another time as though trying to convince himself, settling down into one of the many rocking chairs that faced the highway rather than the ocean. They’d be fine to smoke there, as Bellamy and Clarke had gone on their _walk_ and everyone else was down by the water. Besides, even if someone was in the house, they wouldn’t notice. The wind was strong enough that the scent would be easily carried away. “Almost ready?”

“Unsure if you’re being greedy, eager, or nervous,” Monty responded as he rolled the joint. “This takes _time_ , Miller.”

Miller smiled, propping up his elbow on the armrest and lowering his chin into his hand. “You sure you’re any good at that?” he asked.

Monty scoffed. “Have you met me? I’m good at everything.”

Jasper, where he was perched on the railing, was beaming. “Should we have invited anyone else?” he asked. “I don’t want to be exclusive.”

Monty thought about it for a moment before asking, “Maya?”

Jasper’s voice was squeaky and high when he responded, “I don’t think she’s into smoking.”

Miller stretched out his hand and leaned into his palm, the smile on his face soft. “I think we’re okay,” Miller said after a moment.

Monty finished off the joint and Jasper tossed him a lighter. A few puffs later Monty was smiling, blowing out smoke and holding out the joint to Jasper. “Yeah, that’s nice,” he said. “Good work, Jasper.”

Jasper went back to beaming. “I do what I can,” he said, taking a hit of his own. “Memes and weed, that’s what I can offer to the world.”

“A noble contribution,” Miller told him, reaching out to accept the joint Jasper was handing to him.

It was nice. It wasn’t insanely hot because it was overcast and the silence was welcome. Only after a few hits, though, Jasper’s phone buzzed. He looked down at it with eyebrows furrowed before his face lit up and he passed the joint back to Miller again to finish their rotation.

“I’m gonna go,” Jasper said.

“Oh?” Monty asked. His eyes darted toward Miller. That meant they’d be finishing off the joint, which was fine, but they hadn’t really talked about their kiss yesterday and Monty wasn’t entirely sure if it was something that required a conversation anyway. “Where to? What’s more important than this?”

“Maya wants to watch Game of Thrones,” Jasper told them. “The answer to watching Game of Thrones with a pretty girl is _never_ no.”

Monty laughed as Jasper hopped from the railing and Miller rolled his eyes fondly before Jasper slipped inside without another word. Miller took his hit and sunk further down into his seat, gazing out across the yard with a soft smile on his face. Monty watched him blow smoke and was annoyed at how stupidly attracted he was to the guy.

“You, uh,” Monty needed to talk about something and his brain betrayed him, taking him to this topic first, “you still with that one guy? Eric, or something?”

Miller turned to face Monty, his gaze warm. “No,” he answered. “That wasn’t really a thing.”

“You tweeted about it a few times,” Monty said with a shrug.

And, crap, how long had Monty been paying attention to things like that?

“I’m a gay black man from southern Alabama,” Miller said, passing him the joint. “Any actual date is worth tweeting about.” Monty had taken his hit but laughed at that, puffing out all the smoke in one breath. Miller’s smile grew. “That okay with you?” he asked.

Monty coughed to clear his throat, letting his smile linger. “Yeah, Miller, that’s fine with me.” There was a lull in the conversation that was never awkward, just comfortable, before Monty blurted out, “Me too.”

Immediately after he said it, he regret it. Miller turned to look at him again, his eyebrows still high on his forehead. “You too, what?”

Fucking pot making Monty’s head all hazy and stupid.

“Am single,” he said.

Miller’s smile was back, but this was one all teeth. “Glad to hear it,” Miller said slowly. “Wouldn’t want your non-existent significant whoever to be angry about spin the bottle.” Miller’s smile flickered for a moment before he turned to Monty saying, “Shotgun?”

Monty nodded without hesitation, passing over the joint for Miller to take another hit. Their chairs were close enough that Monty didn’t have to lean far and then he opened his mouth, his lips curled as Miller leaned in too, close enough to blow smoke into Monty’s mouth. They held one another’s gaze as Monty inhaled, pulling as much of the smoke into his lungs as he could.

When Monty finally exhaled, too, Miller was still looking at him.

* * *

By the time Bellamy and Clarke returned back to the house, Clarke had wound her arms around herself and her thighs had been chafing for like, ever. “I can put the idea of mini golf in the group text,” Clarke said as they made their way inside, not really looking at each other, but from the corner of her eye it looked like Bellamy nodded.

After he’d stopped her from face planting into the ocean, the walk had shifted, somehow. She couldn’t pinpoint why or how but it definitely _had_. And Clarke, well. She was good at handling _fictional_ emotions. But her own? Not so much.

So she walked two steps faster than Bellamy most of the time, despite the fact that he had longer legs than her and could easily catch up, and tried not to make eye contact. It also didn’t help, at all, when Bellamy dropped down to the sand to pick up a shell before the ocean could carry it away again when a small girl appeared with a bucket full of her own.

She backed away after Bellamy had grabbed it, but upon noticing her he looked back to the shell and offered it. “You want it?” he asked.

The girl nodded, her dark, damp hair flying in all directions while she smiled thankfully. He dropped it in her bucket and then off again she went, leaving Clarke to wonder why Bellamy with small children did funny things to her insides--immediately followed by the sharp thought of _you know why, you idiot._

 **From Clarke** **  
** Mini golf tonight?

 **From Monty** **  
** YES

 **From Jasper** **  
** Omg omg yes omg

 **From Raven** **  
** Places?

 **From Clarke** **  
** There’s one about ten mins  
away from here, like, 10$

 **From Wells** **  
** Sure, sounds fun

 **From Clarke** **  
** Great cool, who’s in?

“Clarke,” Bellamy said, following after her.

She lowered her phone as it started chiming an endless amount of time, Monty sending a hand raised emoji followed by Jasper sending the clapping emoji followed by everyone picking their own emoji to send, indicating that the too wanted to go mini golfing. She turned back to Bellamy, clicking it shut, but every time he opened his mouth to speak someone else would send another emoji and her phone would ding.

Bellamy ducked his head with a smile. “Never mind,” he said softly.

* * *

Roma and Bree and Fox and Atom decided that it would be a good idea to walk to the nearest Walmart, because why not, so they passed them on the street as they drove to mini golfing.

Bellamy wasn’t driving this time--instead he was sitting in Wells’ car staring out the window, trying to sort out his thoughts. Half of him wanted to ask Miller what the fuck to do, but he also wasn’t entirely sure how invested in that second, secret group chat he was and didn’t want to tip off potential gamblers about what would happen this week.

“You good?” Wells asked after the back erupted with laughter about _something_ and Bellamy hadn’t even moved.

“Yeah, of course,” he answered.

Wells shot him a look but nodded steadily. Wells was always that person, the steady one. “Did you have a nice walk?” Wells wondered, and Bellamy arched an eyebrow. He also appeared to be very good at reading situations. “You were gone for awhile.”

“The pier was farther than we thought,” Bellamy answered, his one eyebrow still arched. He waited for Wells to say something else but the man was silent, a soft but understanding smile on his face. Why did everyone in this house have that goddamn look on their face?

Minigolf was a mess. Clarke led the group in front (her, Wells, Miller, Murphy, Maya, and Monroe) as they couldn’t all golf at the same time, while Bellamy led the one in the back comprised of everyone leftover. It became evident, immediately, that Clarke’s team cared more about keeping score and actually _playing_ minigolf than Bellamy’s team did.

At one point Raven pulled out her phone and started blasting Queen’s _Don’t Stop Me Now,_ again, while all five of them (Bellamy, Raven, Monty, Jasper, and Harper) all hit their golf balls at the same time to see if anyone would make it in. Clarke looked exasperated every time Bellamy’s group was waiting behind them, Murphy complained that they were being rushed, but generally everyone else was having a good time.

“Control your children,” Clarke called back behind her at one point.

To which Bellamy responded, “No.” They were having _fun_ , and that’s all that mattered.

She rolled her eyes at him but at least she was smiling at him again.

* * *

“All I’m saying,” Murphy muttered as he climbed into the car at the end of the night, “is that I would’ve _won_ if Bellamy’s fuck ass team wasn’t up our ass.”

“You just said ass twice in one sentence,” Monty pointed out. “Impressive.”

“Ass,” Murphy said again. Just because.

Monty rolled his eyes as Clarke started the car and his phone hummed in his pocket. “I just think it’s unnecessary to say ass two times in the same sentence. Were you raised in a barn?”

“What if I was?”

 **From Miller** **  
** Hot tub tonight?

“Good lord,” Monty murmured to himself. He turned, finding Murphy with an arched eyebrow attempting to read over his shoulder. “ _No_ ,” Monty said, opening up a different thread.

“Why are you being secretive?”

 **From Monty** **  
** in need of assistance

 **From Jasper** **  
** bc my car is more fun than  
yours???

 **From Monty** **  
** +1 Screenshot

 **From Jasper** **  
** HAHA SAY YES

“Why are you reading over my shoulder like some stalker?” Monty asked, trying to shift himself against the door so Murphy couldn’t see his screen. Murphy was watching in amusement and Monty wriggled away from him. “Stalker. You’re the one person who’s actually just here to observe us and take notes and turn us into a research paper, aren’t you?”

“Oddly specific,” Murphy mused. “My money for that was on Maya.”

In the back, Maya gasped. “That’s not _true_.”

“Leave her alone,” Monty murmured.

 **From Monty** **  
** with or without alcohol?

 **From Miller** **  
** Sorry am I supposed to  
do anything without alcohol  
this week?

 **From Monty** **  
** alright with alcohol it is

* * *

Murphy cooked breakfast for dinner while Jasper made more mimosas, but once all of that was cleaned up people took shots. Like, a lot of them.

Miller watched in surprise as nearly the entire house lined up at the kitchen counter and filled up small, plastic shot glasses with bright blue vodka and knocked back between two and three each. Monty only did one, but Raven did _five_ , and Miller slipped into his room to find his swim trunks.

Bellamy’s holed up inside with his laptop open. “Fic or paper?”

“Fic,” Bellamy answered, eyebrows furrowed. “Having a block.”

“Draw inspiration from your own life,” Miller said, digging around his suitcase. “I’m sure there’s _lots_ going on.” Bellamy narrowed his eyes at him and Miller smirked, grabbing his shorts. “Is there not?”

Bellamy reached up and scrubbed at his face before letting out a long, dramatic sigh that only Bellamy Blake could produce. Miller crossed the room to the door and pushed it shut before returning to Bellamy’s sight and waiting for the story.

“Am I crazy?” he asked.

Miller shook his head. “Not really. Usual amount.”

“Meaning?”

“You’re in North Carolina with like, fifteen strangers,” Miller suggested. “That’s kind of crazy. But if this is about Clarke, then nah.” Bellamy sighed again while Miller headed for the bathroom. “Hey,” he said before closing the door to change. “You know what is crazy?”

Bellamy looked over at him. “What?”

“We only have three full days left here,” Miller told him. _Make a move._ “Not a lot of time, when you think about it.”

* * *

Monty climbed into the hot tub a few minutes before Miller arrived, hoping that the feel of the jets against his back would calm him down beforehand. It’s just--what the _hell_ was going on here?

When the sliding glass door opened and Miller walked out, bare chested because that’s how most men get into hot tubs, his stupid delicious body there for Monty to see in plain sight, Monty’s mouth went a little dry. “I brought vodka and rum,” Monty told him as he climbed over the edge.

“Shot glasses?” Monty closed his mouth so hard his teeth clicked. “Don’t worry about it,” Miller said with a grin. “We’ll just take swigs.” He sunk down into the hot tub close enough to Monty and the only thing that ran through his mind was that one Vine where two guys are sitting five feet apart, in a hot tub _‘cuz they’re not gay’_ and Miller was, like, a foot away, and also confirmed to be super gay, and Monty was _really_ bad at whatever was happening. “No Jasper?” Miller asked, reaching for the bottle of rum.

Again, Monty’s mouth went dry. “Was I supposed to--?”

“I thought you might,” Miller said. Monty had to wait for an elaboration he knew wouldn’t come until after a drink. “He’s a good buffer.”

“Why do we need a buffer?” Monty asked.

“ _I_ don’t need a buffer,” Miller told him.

Monty reached for the vodka. “And you think I do?”

Miller shrugged. “Apparently not,” he said, gesturing, “as Jasper’s not here.”

“No,” Monty confirmed. “He’s not.”

* * *

Bellamy wasn’t entirely sure how the night managed to fall apart so quickly.

He left the room once everyone started doing shots at the same time because he didn’t want to be in charge of that and settled in his bed instead to write. Besides Miller, no one had been in. He’d been listening faintly to the cheers and laughter and voices that got louder and louder in the next room, but Bellamy _really_ didn’t want to deal with drunk humans tonight.

They were all adults. They should be able to take care of themselves, right?

 **From Monroe** **  
** did you guesy laevae me???

 **From Wells** **  
** Beach

 **From Monroe** **  
** comgni!!!!

Bellamy wrinkled his nose, battling the part of him that wanted to stride out onto the porch and stare into the darkness where his friends were potentially flinging themselves into the ocean. But Wells was a good dude, and he was probably taking care of them. He’d more or less mentioned that Bellamy needed a break anyway, so that’s what Bellamy was doing.

Only it was then that there was a knock on his bedroom door, and before he could even push himself out of bed, Clarke was pushing her way in.

“Sure, you can come in,” Bellamy called out, hints of sarcasm in his voice.

Clarke ducked behind the door. “Sorry! Can I really?”

“Yes, Clarke,” Bellamy said softly. “You can really come in.” He pushed himself to sit up and could tell, right off the bat, that she was drunk. How many people were drunk tonight? Maybe Bellamy could convince Miller to get out of the hot tub and--fuck, who was he kidding? Miller would not be giving up hot tub time with Monty any time soon. “How you feeling?”

“Wells said I wasn’t fun,” Clarke murmured, sinking onto the edge of Bellamy’s bed. “So I did a lot of shots.”

“Without me?” Bellamy joked.

“Mm-hm.”

“And how many shots did Wells do?”

“None,” Clarke answered. “Because unlike me, he’s not fun.” Bellamy swallowed down his laugh but part of him was thankful that Wells was sober as he thought. Clarke’s frown twitched. “I’m very drunk, Bell.” He closed his laptop just a touch, leaving his document open to get back to whenever Clarke had finished. “And I just…” she trailed off and Bellamy arched an eyebrow as she turned to look at him. “You’re really great, you know?” she said.

He smiled. “You are too, Clarke.”

“No I mean--God, you’re so important, Bellamy.” His smile grew and he was about to open his mouth and respond when she started talking again. “You’ve always been there for me when I needed you,” Clarke said, her eyes on the ground. “You’re a constant. No matter how many times I fuck up--start stupid problems for no _reason_ you’re always just--you support me and you help me figure things out and I just needed that.” Her voice is softer when she says, “I _need_ you.”

“You don’t need me,” Bellamy said gently.

“Well fine,” Clarke said, shifting to face him. “But my life would suck a million times more without you. And I _want_ you. So there.” Bellamy swallowed, unsure if Clarke meant what she was saying in the way she said it, or if she meant it differently. “I meant to say it at the beach today,” she murmured, digging the heel of her palm into her eye. “Because you were being your usual great self, and I’m just not _good_ at that.”

“Being appreciated?” he suggested.

Clarke looked up at him. “But neither are you,” she said. “Good at being appreciated.”

He dropped his head a bit, still fighting off his smile. “No, I guess I’m not.” They were both quiet a moment before Bellamy lifted his eyes to meet hers again. “Thank you, Clarke,” he said.

She grinned.

* * *

They’d been slowly inching closer as the night wore on, drink after drink, only to be temporarily startled by a herd of drunken assholes making their way to the beach. It wasn’t until a few minutes later did Monroe pass, shouting out into the night about Poseidon, did Miller move close again.

“Has she read your cards yet?” Miller asked.

“Who, Monroe?”

“Yeah,” Miller said, but Monty shook his head. “She did mine,” he said. “But--she’s trying to get into palm reading.”

Monty swallowed. “Palm reading.”

“Like…” Miller reached out, fingers circling around Monty’s wrist and turning his hand face up. With his free hand, Miller stretched out his pointer finger and dragged it across the lines on Monty’s hand. “Palm reading,” Miller said again.

There was a very slim chance that Monty was reading this situation entirely wrong. But he was a little tipsy and Miller was holding his hand, so with his _own_ free hand Monty reached out, resting it against Miller’s side beneath the water and pressing firm against him.

“Right,” Monty said lowly. The angle in the hot tub was awkward but Miller was close to him now, moving closer, his eyes dark and his lips parted. “What’s my palm say?”

Miller licked his lips, his eyes darting down so he could follow the lines across Monty’s palm with his finger. “Fuck if I know,” he murmured. “I’m not Monroe.”

Monty laughed, pitching his head forward and resting against Miller’s shoulder. “You’re annoying,” Monty said fondly.

Miller dropped Monty’s hand then so Monty took the opportunity to slide it against Miller’s other hip, holding on. “Yeah,” Miller agreed, voice still low. “You like it.”

“I do,” Monty confirmed. The distant sound of their friends laughing on the shore and the rumbling sound of the jets was all they had. “I feel like we’ve been here forever,” Monty said, his voice following Miller’s to that softer, deeper side. “Don’t you?”

“The hot tub?”

“This house,” Monty said. He felt like he _knew_ these people.

“Are you trying to make an excuse for being into me?” Miller asked. “Because that’s unnecessary. We’ve known each other for years.”

Monty laughed another time, peeling back so he could look up at him. “Who says I’m into you?” Monty asked, to which Miller responded with a thoroughly unamused but equally fond expression. Monty’s fingers curled against Miller’s side and they were still looking at each other, neither spoken. “I’m bad at this,” Monty said.

Miller leaned in a bit. “Bad at what?” he asked.

“You’re just a lot,” Monty responded, surprised at how breathless he sounded. Miller was moving closer though and Monty couldn’t break his gaze. They were nearly nose to nose. “Super just--hot. And intimidating. There were a few people I was intimidated to meet and you were one of them.”

“I’m _intimidating_?” Miller asked, and Monty nodded. “Well you’re hot, too.” Again Monty was laughing, half convinced that he was dreaming and half ready to blame whatever was happening on the fact that they’d been drinking. “Not super intimidating though,” Miller carried on, moving closer. “I mean your writing is fucking fantastic but you’re like--the epitome of sunshine, so I wasn’t--”

Monty pressed himself upwards just a bit, cutting Miller off with a kiss. Miller opened his mouth as though he’d been waiting for Monty to just _kiss him already_ and sunk down, sliding one of his hands up Monty’s shoulder to hold his neck and keep him close. But Monty was _really not good at this_ , not at all, so when Miller’s other hand slipped down to cup his ass, Monty pulled away with a gasp.

“Too much?” Miller asked, and this time it was _he_ who sounded breathless.

“No,” Monty answered, his hands sliding up Miller’s body so he could just _touch_ him. “ _No_.”

* * *

Bellamy startled awake at the sound of his bedroom door opening. The light was still on and it was overwhelmingly bright and Miller was there, looking happy but unamused.

“Am I supposed to sleep somewhere else tonight?” he asked quietly. It took Bellamy a moment to understand what he was talking about, seeing as he’d just been woken up, but then he realized Clarke was wound around him, fast asleep. Bellamy went to sit up but Miller shook his head, holding out his hand to stop him from moving. “Stay,” Miller said firmly.

“But--”

“ _Sleep_ ,” he practically ordered. “Good job, listening to my advice.”

“You didn’t offer advice,” Bellamy rasped, sinking back down into bed. “And I didn’t--she’s drunk.” Clarke was knocked out, her lips parted with the smallest snore ever. It made Bellamy’s entire body feel warm. “We were just talking,” he said. “How was the hot tub?”

Miller grinned as he ducked down to grab his pajama pants from the pile he left them in by the bed. “Enlightening,” he answered.

Bellamy swallowed his laugh, not wanting to wake Clarke up seeing as she was laying on his chest. “Surprised you’re already back.”

“Well it’s 2am,” Miller said, heading for the bathroom to change. “And everyone downstairs is fucking plastered. Wells has been giving Raven water shots in an attempt to convince her to drink, well, water. And Monroe and Harper are taking turns puking. So that was kind of a turn off.”

He shut the door to change and Bellamy looked down at Clarke, not bothering to hide his smile. She was asleep, anyway. Hopefully she didn’t wake up with a hangover or completely regretting the fact that she climbed into bed with Bellamy. It’s not like they _did_ anything. They were both fully clothed and Clarke was way too drunk for Bellamy to even think about it, but sleeping side by side was a different form of intimacy.

“The making out though,” Miller said as he opened the bathroom and strode out in his pajamas. “That was great.”

“You and Monty made out?” Bellamy asked, which was stupid, because obviously. “Perfect. Go sleep in his room.”

“He and Jasper are co-dependent,” Miller said, waving his hand dismissively. “And like I said--Raven’s fucked up, so that means her and Clarke’s bed is free.” Miller lingered by the door, hand over the light switch, didn’t move. “Tell her,” Miller said, gesturing to Clarke. “Before you’re out of time.” Bellamy tried to swallow but his throat felt too dry. Instead he nodded, and Miller flicked off the light for the two of them.


	5. Wednesday

Monty woke up with Jasper’s nose pressed into his neck as he spooned Monty, long lanky arms wrapped around Monty as though he was a stuffed animal. Monty knew it was only a matter of time before they woke up like this again but he was still vastly unprepared for it. He moved away, squinting into the bright light of the room, finding Jasper already awake.

“Morning sunshine,” Jasper said.

Monty huffed, turning to face his friend as Jasper pulled away. “You are very close to me.”

“I got lonely,” Jasper told him. “And I like to hold people when I’m drunk.” Monty shook his head at Jasper, working a way outside of his grasp, and rubbed at his eyes to wake himself up. The light coming through the window was thick and gray, which meant it must be cloudy outside instead of the normal bright June sun. “You came in pretty late last night,” Jasper said, letting Monty wiggle away.

“Uh,” immediately Monty felt warmth creeping over every inch of his skin. “I… did.” Jasper swung his arm over his face as though he was going to try and sleep some more. “I made out with Miller?”

Jasper removed his arm from his face. “In the hot tub?!”

Monty’s face flushed. “Maybe.”

 _“Dude_ _!”_ Jasper laughed wildly, pushing himself into a sitting position. “No you did not.”

“No I really did,” Monty insisted. “It was really hot and not from just the water and great and, yeah. It was awesome.” Jasper laughed again.

Monty’d forgotten just how _good_ making out was. Miller’s scruff against Monty’s skin was dizzying and Miller sucking hickeys against Monty’s collarbones was overwhelming and Miller slotting his leg between Monty’s and grinding forward was so fucking _good_.

But at one point everyone stumbled back from the beach and half of them were drunk and Miller pulled away as they passed. There was something in Wells’ eyes though that was a silent, desperate plea for help. So Monty cupped Miller’s cheeks, kissing him hard one last time, and climbed out of the hot tub after murmuring, “Tomorrow.”

Whatever the hell _that_ meant. Now he had to _do_ something.

“This is amazing,” Jasper said as he sat up. “I knew this was happening. I could _feel it_.”

* * *

Clarke woke up insanely warm in a room that was disorientingly dark. She and Raven agreed on the first night that they would leave their curtains open so the natural light in the morning would wake them up, and this room was dark. And also Raven was _not_ that warm.

It took her a moment to figure out she was in Bellamy’s room.

He was still asleep, breathing evenly, and something heavy settled in Clarke’s stomach right away. Bellamy Blake had absolutely _no right_ being this fucking beautiful.

Clarke shifted a bit, shaking Bellamy’s shoulder just a touch. “Bell,” she rasped, having to clear her throat. “Bellamy.”

He startled. “Yeah?” He was blinking at once, squinting into the darkness as well. “What’s wrong?” he murmured, also clearing his throat.

“Oh--nothing,” Clarke said. He frowned at her. “I just--sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

A drowsy laugh escaped him. “You can sleep with me whenever you want, Clarke,” Bellamy exhaled as he sunk back down into bed and closed his eyes. “On me. Whatever.” Clarke didn’t mean to laugh but she did anyway, surprised at his answer, and the returning smile that Bellamy gave her made her want to lay back down too. “You can stay,” he said, opening an eye to look at her. “I don’t mind.”

“I should make coffee, or something,” Clarke said. “People are going to be hungover.”

Bellamy closed both of his eyes again. “Are _you_ hungover?” he asked. Clarke was still near him, close enough that they were still sharing body heat. “Do you remember last night?”

For a moment, panic swelled in Clarke’s chest, but it was gone in an instant. “I’m fine,” she told him. “Of course I remember last night.”

“You remember what you said to me?” Bellamy pressed. Eyes still closed.

The details of it were fuzzy, but Clarke mostly remembered what she’d said. After a few shots the need to be by Bellamy’s side was the most urgent and important thing. She felt displaced and off-balance without him next to her and when she couldn’t find him in the room, she went searching.

“It’s not like it’s a secret that you’re important to me,” Clarke murmured, finally easing away from Bellamy’s side and to the edge of the bed. She ran her fingers through her hair to get it under control before lowering her feet to the ground. “Sorry if I was--”

“No,” Bellamy cut her off. He sounded tired, but it wasn’t the sort of sleepy-tired he’d sounded earlier. This tired felt bone deep. “No, you were fine, Clarke.” She glanced over her shoulder at him and found Bellamy watching her with his eyes open again. There was a furrow between his eyebrows and a sad expression on her face. “You’re always great.”

This was getting too emotional.

Clarke stood. “Okay well good,” she murmured. “Let Miller know I’m sorry for, um. Yeah.”

“It’s okay,” Bellamy called after her. “He slept in _your_ bed last night.”

* * *

Monty was the only one in the kitchen when Clarke returned to her bedroom, subsequently kicking Miller out of their bed, and busied himself at the coffee maker while Miller stumbled to the counter.

“What time is it?” Miller called out to him as the machine roared to life.

“Early.”

“Thanks, Monty,” Miller said with a laugh. “That’s exactly what I was asking. I really appreciate it.”

Monty smiled. “A little after 9,” he elaborated, his smile growing at the tiny nod of thanks that Miller rewarded him with. The house was strangely quiet. Monty supposed that most people had been drinking last night so it made sense that many people were still asleep, but he at least expected to hear someone moving around somewhere.

The two of them were quiet for a long time, Miller lingering by the porch door to stare out at the morning waves. It was another cloudy day, not necessarily raining but definitely not good beach weather, so Monty wondered if it would be a repeat of the night before. Not the making out, exactly, but the drinking. They had an insane amount of alcohol to get through anyway.

Monty watched as Miller walked away from the door, over to Monty’s side, his steps slow but sure. Might as well bite the bullet.

“So do you remember making out last night?” Monty asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Or did I fever dream that whole thing?”

Miller laughed and Monty turned, his eyebrows high on his forehead not having expecting that response from him. “I think you need to have a fever to fever dream.” Still, Monty didn’t respond. The ball was in Miller’s court. “Yeah,” Miller finally answered, leaning back against the counter on the opposite side of the room. “I remember that.”

“Oh, good.” Miller laughed another time and Monty bit back his smile as he reached into the fridge for creamer. “Are we going to talk about that at any point?”

“Why should we talk about it?” Miller asked. His eyes were dark and Monty thought for a moment that he’d been reading things wrong this entire time, that all of this was about to fall apart, that all of this was just for the week to pass the time. But then Miller added, after licking his lips, “We could do something about it instead.”

“Holy shit,” Monty exhaled, turning to face him head on. “That was so smooth.”

The grin that split Miller’s face was unnecessarily bright. “I’ve read a lot of fic,” he said.

Monty returned to his coffee to continue mixing it, wishing they had more actual sugar to pour into his drink as well both because he needed it sweet and because he needed to figure out what to say next. They were both quiet again and Monty found himself thankful that the kitchen was still empty besides the two of them. It would’ve been an awkward conversation for anyone to overhear.

“Okay then,” Monty said slowly, removing his spoon and setting it to the side. “What is it that you want to do, exactly?” he asked.

* * *

“I’m going to need you out of the room later,” Miller said as he marched into their bedroom about an hour after Clarke left.

Bellamy tried curling into the spot that Clarke had left and falling back asleep but he kept getting distracted with how little time they had left and thinking back to the night before, what Clarke had said to him. Octavia had been pestering him to see if he’d made a move yet and it was shining in Miller’s eyes that time was running out and Bellamy _wanted_. Clarke just had things to work out, and Bellamy wasn’t sure if she had yet.

Lexa’s crew dropping out of beach week didn’t have all that much to do with fandom, it had more to do with relationships. Bellamy remembered when Clarke and Lexa moved from something friendly into something more. It was strange to have seen their relationship develop online. Bellamy hadn’t been the biggest fan of Lexa from the get-go, but he and Clarke were close at the time and if Clarke trusted her, if Clarke _liked_ her, Bellamy had been willing to give her a chance as well.

While Clarke and Lexa’s relationship had mostly been kept secret, pieces of it came out afterwards when Clarke turned to him in grief. He never pushed, never pried, but it didn’t take all that long for Clarke to share her story with him. It had been kickstarted at a con that the two of them met up at and at the tail end of another relationship Clarke had with someone else, so it wasn’t the best time for it to start. And Lexa wanted to _rush_. She wanted Clarke to talk about this and talk about that, to forget her time with Finn, the boy beforehand, and dedicate herself entirely to this new relationship. Clarke tried, because she liked Lexa, but it never felt right.

Clarke told Bellamy how Lexa became obsessed with followers, or maybe she'd been obsessed with them beforehand. Tumblr, Twitter, it didn’t matter. She just wanted to be promoted again and again, and Clarke with her fanart had a pretty intense following that trusted her. Lexa liked watching her numbers grow. But Clarke also wasn’t annoying and wasn’t the worst and only posted a few things to try and get Lexa’s name out there. Fandom had been Clarke's place to get away and it had been quickly turning into something she didn't want to invest in.

Then the comparisons came, as Clarke told Bellamy. Lexa comparing Clarke to Costia, her ex, who was _always_ hyping her up on this social media and that social media, as though it was Clarke’s job to make Lexa feel more important than she was. But whenever Clarke would ask for the same sort of support Lexa would write it off. _Love is weakness_. It wasn't about what was best for Clarke or what she needed, but what was best for Lexa.

Clarke called it to an end one night after Lexa went off on a rant totally unrelated to anything, making it seem like she was the victim of some internet coalition turning on her when she’d been the one to start it in the end.

Bellamy could fill in the rest, Bellamy knew what the rest of the house knew. After they broke up, some of Lexa’s close friends started attacking some of Clarke’s close friends over something stupid, over a TV show, and Lexa hadn’t bothered telling them to stop. In fact, it didn’t even seem like she cared. But then Raven was at the center of an attack, Bellamy at another, and Clarke drew the line there.

No matter how petty all of it was, it still hurt her. He wasn’t sure where she stood now in terms of feelings.

She liked Lexa and it had gotten twisted. They wanted different things, and Lexa let her wants get the better of their relationship without giving Clarke the right to be her own person.

Bellamy didn’t want to _be_ that. Not that he’d ever use Clarke as a pawn in a game like Lexa had, things like follower counts didn’t mean shit to him and was surprised that it had been such a big part of a fucking relationship. Not that he’d ever intentionally take away Clarke’s autonomy, but he didn’t want to be something good in person that got ruined and distorted when they were apart. He wanted things with Clarke to be _right_. He already cared so much about her in so many different ways and Bellamy wanted to make sure he didn’t mess it up.

He couldn’t stop thinking about all of the possibilities.

“What do you need me out of the room for?” Bellamy asked as Miller went straight for his duffle.

“It’s cloudy as fuck out,” Miller said matter-of-factly, “so chances of us doing anything outside are slim to none. And I want to make out with Monty undisturbed.”

Bellamy chuckled. “Really going for it then, huh?”

“Seeing as I only have three full more days to do so,” Miller murmured, not looking up at his friend, “yeah.”

“And why should I help you?” Bellamy asked.

“I don’t know,” Miller said, finally finding what he was looking for. “Not like I couldn’t sleep in here last night or anything, seeing as you and Clarke were--”

“Fine,” Bellamy cut him off. “Just--don’t make me be the one to change the sheets.”

Miller grinned. “Of course not.”

* * *

Monty’s coffee had quickly been forgotten when Miller moved in on him, hands stretched out and eyes dark. It might’ve been dangerous kissing in the kitchen where anyone could walk in and see them but whatever. Miller wanted to kiss him. And by the way Monty was curling his fingers into Miller’s shirt, it was clear he wanted to kiss him too.

Miller kept an ear out but who was he kidding? Someone could be in the living room watching them right now and he wouldn’t have a fucking clue.

Just as he was about to wrap his arms around Monty and lift him onto the counter, Monty pulled back. _“_ _Miller_ _,”_ he exhaled.

“Nate,” Miller corrected against Monty’s mouth. “If we’re going to make out then maybe call me by my name, yeah?” Monty nodded, lifting one hand to carefully brush his thumb over Miller’s jaw. “Is this still okay?” Miller asked.

“Yeah, Nate,” Monty murmured. He dropped his hand and looped his fingers through Miller’s belt loops and tugged to keep him close. “I want this.”

Miller bent in, capturing Monty’s mouth just once before he pulled back. Monty had said something the night before about not being good at this, when it fact it was _Miller_ who wasn’t very good at this. Starting the kissing was fine. Talking about the kissing was a challenge. He wanted to spend the rest of the fucking week kissing Monty. But Miller was always thinking about futures, about what was next, and what was _next_ was _leaving._ No way in fuck was he going to end up like Bellamy and Clarke.

“Monty,” Miller sighed, pulling back after just a moment. “What happens on Saturday?”

“Saturday?” he echoed, blinking as though trying to get clear the haze from his mind. “You mean--when we leave?” Miller eased back a touch, wondering if this was too much, if his mind was somewhere that Monty’s wasn’t, but Monty tugged another time to pull Miller closer. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, soft but sure. “We’re not--I mean, we’re kind of far away from each other,” Monty said. “But if we--if _you_ want…”

“I do,” Miller admitted. It was absurd. This was all absurd, insane, but Miller _knew_ Monty. He’d seen the parts of him that he kept secret, the pieces that made him feel bright. How they’d met didn’t matter to Miller, clearly didn’t matter to Monty. Just how Monty made him feel. And Monty was here, making him feel good, making him  _happy,_ and the possibility of something with this wonderful man was something Miller craved. “And you?”

Monty was beaming, and that was insane, too. Monty’s smile was overwhelming in so many ways. “My mom’s going to smack me upside the head when I tell her,” he said. He moved his hands from Miller’s belt loops to just wind around his waist. “This is crazy, right?”

“I was just thinking that,” Miller confessed.

“But I like you,” Monty said softly.

Miller reached up, brushing Monty’s hair from his forehead. “What if it’s just _this_ ,” Miller said, his eyes lifting as though he was gesturing to the rest of the house. “Being here with one another. The high of it.”

“Might as well have gotten with Jasper if that’s what this was about,” Monty said. “Don’t you think?”

In lieu of answering, Miller leaned in for another kiss that Monty met eagerly. This one didn’t last as someone started pounding their way up the stairs so Miller parted, bumping his nose lightly against Monty’s as he went and smiling warmly.

“Drink your coffee,” Miller told him before starting off to his room to pester Bellamy. “I need a shower.”

* * *

 **From Raven  
** whispers of the future season   
one rewatch party starting at   
1pm!!!

 **From Harper** **  
** Season one was so GOOD

 **From Wells** **  
** Until they killed Weelby in the 3rd   
episode, but whatever sure I guess   
I’ll be there

Clarke could hear her friends gathering in the upstairs living room as she settled down in bed and pulled out her tablet. She could definitely finishing her drawing by the end of the week she just has to crack down and actually get it done. The first few episodes of _Whispers_ had some pretty bad acting, so maybe she’d join them in a bit. But for now she was going to work quietly in her room to get the drawing finished.

Leaving her door open, Clarke heard the good parts. The dramatic voice-over. The cheesy music. The over-acted beginning scenes. She knew if she was out there she would be distracted. Monty stopped by her door once in a while to check in and Raven worked on some fanvids for a bit but mostly it was just Clarke working, getting things done, and that was good enough for her.

* * *

The season 1 rewatch started pretty strong. Most everyone in the house had crowded into the living room, more people joining when they got closer to episodes 5 and 6, before the crowd petered out again.

Soon it was just Bellamy and Monty in the living room, Bellamy working on fic while Monty tried to keep himself awake. Despite the fact that he hadn’t left the house at all, he was tired. It was probably because he went to bed so late and woke up pretty early repeatedly.

After finishing off the mixed drink for himself, Monty excused himself to pee while Bellamy kept working on fic.

Soon Monty left the bathroom and before he could even round the corner back into the living room Miller reached out, hooking his fingers into Monty’s shirt and tugging him backwards toward his bedroom. The moment the bedroom door was shut behind him Monty let out a laugh, loud and bright, and Miller grinned at him a smile that Monty still didn’t feel like he deserved.

“Hey,” Miller greeted.

“Hi,” Monty returned. “It’s funny that you’re pinning me to the door right here when your giant massive bed is right behind you,” Monty said as Miller leaned in. Despite the eyeroll he earned a kiss anyway and Monty was quick to return it, winding his arms around Miller’s waist and keeping him close.

A few kisses later Monty finally pressed back with enough force to guide Miller to the bed, pushing him backwards onto it with a small and satisfying _oof_. The look in Miller’s eyes as Monty crawled over him, the two of them scooting backwards together on the mattress as Monty climbed over him, was dark and needy.

“Bellamy won’t bother us,” Miller said, his voice sounding thick, and Monty leaned down to kiss him. “He owes me.”

“He owes you?” Monty exhaled.

Miller’s hands slipped up under Monty’s shirt. “Mm-hm.” The feel of his hands on Monty’s skin made him warm all over and he couldn’t take it, the slow teasing that Miller was doing by inching Monty’s shirt up and over his head instead of just yanking it off. Monty reached down instead to hurry the job along and Miller laughed. Even after all of these moments hearing it, it still felt special. “Eager?”

“Maybe a little,” Monty admitted, and Miller was grinning again. “I, uh,” his throat felt a little tighter as Monty settled over Miller’s stomach straddling him. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured,” Miller murmured. He pressed a warm kiss to Monty’s chest before looking up at him. “Seeing as you’d never kissed a guy. Not that you’ve got to kiss the people you’re dating, or whatever, but like, kind of.”

“Do you talk when you get nervous?” Monty asked.

“Sometimes. Just--” Miller leaned in, kissing him again. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said.

“I’ve never done long distance before either,” Monty admitted.

Miller popped his shoulder into a shrug. “I have. It can be hard.” He slid his hands up Monty’s back, pulling him further onto the bed as his fingers danced across his spine. “But it can also be worth it.”

* * *

“Monty and Miller are potentially having sex in my bed,” Bellamy said from the doorway. “I’m afraid to be in the living room in case I hear things.” Clarke barked out a laugh and pat the spot on the bed next to her, motioning for him to enter, and he pulled the door behind him with a click. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Clarke said, going back to her sketch. Bellamy pulled open his laptop, trying not to stare as she worked. “Monty and Miller,” Clarke said slowly, her lips puckering just a bit. “That’s interesting.”

“Not really,” Bellamy admitted. “It makes sense.”

He closed his eyes after saying that, remembering just _hours earlier_ when Miller had said the same thing to him about Clarke. “The two of you,” he’d murmured, shaking his head fondly after Bellamy’s phone lit up with another text from her despite the fact that they were just rooms apart. “It just makes sense.”

Some people together, that’s just how the universe worked.

“Well you’re cool to hang,” Clarke said as he settled in beside her, fighting off the feeling in his chest. How was he supposed to bring up whatever it was that was going on between them? He was rapidly running out of time. Yesterday it felt like they’d been there forever, and now halfway through the week it doesn’t feel like there’s any time left at all. “Raven’s missing and I’m just doing this. I really want to finish this drawing before the week’s over.”

“There’s still time,” Bellamy said, trying to convince himself of that as well. They’re both quiet for a moment. “I could get us drinks?” he suggested. “Wine?”

“Oh-- _yeah_ , get us wine,” Clarke said with a nod. “Wine is good. I want that.”

Bellamy shifted his laptop to the side and slid out of her bed while Clarke got back to work, her bottom lip between her teeth as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. Bellamy was halfway through pouring both of them glasses of the first thing in the fridge, something pink, when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

 **From Monroe** **  
** good news i’m drunk adn   
doign tarot readigns downstairs   
all are welcome

 **From Jasper** **  
** she foretold my future

 **From Monroe** **  
** spooooky

“Have you gotten your cards read yet?” Bellamy asked, striding back into Clarke’s room and tugging the door shut. Just in case. Miller and Monty across the hallway weren’t _that_ far away, and Bellamy seriously wasn’t in the mood to hear his best friend getting laid while he struggled to even admit how he felt about Clarke. “Miller did it the other night.”

“Miller believes in tarot readings?” Clarke asked, reaching for her glass.

Bellamy shrugged. “Dunno. He had fun though.”

“Okay, okay,” Clarke murmured, taking a huge drink from the glass. “Let me get finish Senna’s shadow and then we’ll head down.”

Bellamy nodded in agreement before knocking back a bit of his own drink. Maybe he’d ask the deck a few questions, too.

* * *

“About _time_ ,” Monroe said as Clarke settled down at the table across from her. Most other people were lounging about in the lower level living room. Even Bellamy had crossed to sit next to Atom instead of lingering at the table. “I can’t do much to like, feed people here,” Monroe said as she started shuffling her deck. “But I can feed the _soul_.”

Clarke laughed. “You don’t have to feed people here,” she said.

“I know. Because I’m feeding the soul.” Monroe continued shuffling the cards and Clarke wondered how much she actually believed in tarot card readings, but she figured it could be fun. “Any questions you’re specifically looking to be answered?” Monroe asked.

“I don’t think so, no.”

“So we’ll do a standard reading then,” Monroe said. “Cool?” Clarke nodded. “Where you are, what you want, and how to get it. My favorite.” She passed the cards back over to Clarke. “You shuffle some, now. Helps transfer your energy.”

“Okay.” Clarke took the cards and started to shuffle them. “How long have you been doing this?”

“A while,” Monroe admitted. “My freshman roommate thought I was a witch,” she went on, “so I just embraced it.” Clarke laughed, passing the cards back to her. “Okay, now cut the deck,” Monroe said.

“Anywhere?”

“Anywhere.” Clarke cut the deck. “Cool. Ready?”

“I guess so,” Clarke said. She wasn’t really sure what to expect. “Tell me where I am.”

Monroe flipped over the first card and started laughing. “Three of Cups,” Monroe explained, shaking her head a bit. Clarke wondered if that was professional before remembering they were on vacation, and also Monroe was drunk, so who cares? “This is--wow, man this is perfect.” She tapped the card to get Clarke to look at it. “This card is all about friendship and celebration.”

Clarke smiled. “Like beach week,” she said.

“You got that right,” Monroe said. “You’re open to forming new bonds, up to creating communities built on friendship.”

“Oh wow,” Clarke said. “That’s really what that means?”

Monroe nodded. “I can read it straight from the book if you want.”

“No I believe you.

“Great. Any questions or clarifications?” Monroe asked, and Clarke shook her head. “This next one is what you want.”

“What I want,” Clarke echoed. Even _she_ wasn’t sure what she wanted. To be honest, she was happy. She was surrounded by friends and the week was halfway through and she was _happy_. “Bring it on.”

Monroe flipped the next card, her eyebrows arching. She glanced over her shoulder a bit as though checking to see if anyone else was listening. “Can’t fucking believe this,” she muttered to herself.

“What?”

“It’s the Two of Cups,” Monroe said. “It’s a harmony card.”

“So I want harmony?”

“No. I mean--” she shook her head. “I’m going to read from the book because you’re not going to believe me.” Clarke frowned at her but sipped from her wine glass as Monroe opened up her book. “This card can be read as being about business,” she said, “but it’s actually mostly about _partnership_.”

“I want a partner?” Clarke asked.

“Clarke,” Monroe huffed. “It’s your reading. You have to interpret it however you want, I can’t _explain_ it to you.”

“Okay, okay.”

“It’s about harmony and deep love between two souls,” Monroe read slowly, and then Clarke understood. Monroe had glanced over her shoulder at _Bellamy_. “This card is all about strength and beauty when two individuals unite in balance, respect, and harmony.”

This card was about Bellamy.

Clarke wasn’t stupid, okay. She didn’t _like_ to address her own emotions or confront them or whatever, but she knew how she felt. Bellamy had always been so strong and steady, he’d been a constant in her life. Straight from the cards he’d _always_ balanced her out. They had a mutual respect for one another that was built on constantly building one another up and supporting each other. And-- _God_ , Clarke _did_ want that.

She lifted her glass to take another drink, nodding at Monroe to let her know she understood.

“Any questions or clarifications so far?” Monroe asked, and Clarke shook her head. She couldn’t very well ask the deck if this was about Bellamy while Bellamy was sitting _right there_. Thankfully he wasn’t paying any attention, wound up in his conversation with Atom and Fox, who’d exited her room when she’d heard them laughing. He seemed so at ease and just as she thought that, Bellamy looked over at her with a bright smile on his face. Clarke ducked her head to fight off her own smile, feeling absurdly warm. Had to’ve been the wine. “Ready to find out how to get it?” Monroe asked.

She had some shitty, knowing smile on her face.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she admitted, knowing _full well_ she might not be ready at all.

Monroe flipped the final card.

“Ace of Wands,” she told Clarke. “It’s an action card.”

“Oh, God.”

“This card’s all about taking chances,” Monroe carried on.

“Shut up.”

“Turning enthusiasm into movement,” Monroe said. “Encouraging you to follow your instincts and be bold.”

“No it doesn’t say that!”

“It does so!”

Clarke lowered her wine glass to the table and covered her face with her hands. “You planned this!”

“Clarke!” Monroe laughed. “You shuffled the deck yourself! You split the deck _yourself!_ ”

“Ugh!”

“Clarke?” Bellamy called.

“You stay out of it,” Clarke muttered, dropping one of her hands to point at the stupid beautiful man who was just feet away. Bellamy held up his hands innocently and let out a quiet laugh. “Keep going,” she murmured to Monroe.

“If you’ve been thinking about taking a leap into a new situation,” Monroe told her, “this card shows up to tell you to go for it.”

Clarke stood up at once. “I have to go,” she said. Monroe grinned. “Don’t look at me like that!” she burst. “I--Raven.”

“Our room,” Murphy called from where he was perched on the ledge of the couch.

Clarke was off in an instant. She twisted through the downstairs hallway before finding the door to Murphy’s bedroom, pushing it open without considering why Raven would be in that room in the first place. She walked in on Raven straddling Wells’ hips, the two of them lip locked, her normally high ponytail down with her hair flowing over her shoulders.

Raven groaned and rolled off of Wells with a huff. “Knocking is _polite_ ,” Raven said as she sat up while Wells sunk down, looking somewhere on the scale between happy and annoyed that they’d been interrupted. “What’s up?”

Clarke leaned back against the door and waited until she heard the sound of Bellamy laughing before she turned back to her friends. “This is important,” she finally whispered, but it came out as more of a hiss.

“Evidently,” Wells said evenly. “As you did not knock.”

“And you’re preventing me from getting laid,” Raven added.

“We asked Atom and Murphy to leave and everything,” Wells pointed out, still smiling. “What happened?”

Clarke huffed. “Monroe’s tarot cards are telling me to make out with Bellamy.”

Raven tipped her head back in a wild laugh. “Monroe’s tarot cards are telling you to make out with Bellamy?” she echoed. “ _Clarke_.”

“I swear to God!”

“Have you been drinking, Clarke?” Wells asked gently, and she spun on her heel to frown at him. “Are you drunk?”

“Hey now,” she muttered, “neither of you have the right to judge me. You’re in here--secretly hooking up? And I’m having a crisis!”

“Tarot cards are vague enough that they’re whatever you make them about,” Wells said. “You choosing to make them about Bellamy is _all_ your doing, Clarke.”

“But--!”

“No buts,” Raven said. Clarke whined, leaning back against the door. She _knew_ that they were both making sense but her mind was hazy from wine and cluttered with thoughts of Bellamy and neither of them seemed to be having that problem. “Kiss the guy.”

“ _No_ ,” Clarke grumbled. “I--we’re _leaving_ _!_ In like, two days!”

“Mm-hm,” Wells agreed. “We are. Which is why we’re doing the kissing now while we can.”

“And probably later too,” Raven added with a grin turning to Wells. “When I fly out to see you. Because long distance is a thing that exists.” Clarke groaned. Raven looked back to her, her smile slipping. “Monty and Miller are getting their shit together,” Raven said. “Me and Wells. Who’s left?”

“It’s complicated,” Clarke hissed.

“Only because you’re making it so,” Wells told her gently. “Take a _risk_ , Clarke,” he said. “It could be great.”

She rested her head backwards against the door.

It _would_ be great.


	6. Thursday

Monty woke up to the sound of the soft pitter patter of rain on the window. The air felt settled and the room was cozy and Monty sighed, curling into the warm body that was wrapped around him. He and Miller had fallen asleep together and Monty had absolutely no plans to get out of bed anytime soon.

“Morning,” Miller murmured.

“Mm. You’re awake?”

Miller brushed his fingers up Monty’s spine. “Didn’t want to wake you.” Monty let out a soft breath, reaching out blindly to wrap his arm around Miller’s waist. “How’d you sleep?”

“Mm,” Monty hummed again, causing Miller to laugh. “You’re so comfortable.”

He felt the press of Miller’s lips against his forehead. “You too,” he whispered back. Monty shivered as Miller kept moving his hand up and down Monty’s back, drawing soft patterns here and there. “Bellamy texted,” Miller said. “We’re heading to the aquarium at noon.”

Monty perked up. “Aquarium?”

“Yeah,” Miller said with a smile. “Wanna go?”

“Um, _yes_.” Monty reached out for his own phone, set on the bedside table. “I love aquariums. They’re excellent. I want to pet a stingray.” Miller laughed another time, dropping his hand from Monty while Monty sat up. “Oh--yes!”

“What?”

 **From Jasper** **  
** MAYA AND I KISSED MAYA   
AND I KISSED MAYA AND I   
KISSED

 **From Jasper** **  
** i know you’re like totally hooking   
up with miller but YOU CAN FIND   
OUT AFTER oh man this is the   
BEST day of my LIFE

 **From Jasper** **  
** TEXT ME BACK WHENEVER YOU   
WAKE UP

Monty tipped his phone at Miller who read the messages with a laugh, shaking his head. “Good,” Miller said. “Good, that makes me--I’m happy.”

“Because of Jasper and Maya?” Monty asked, typing back a response.

 **From Monty** **  
** HELL YEA MY MAN

“Just in general,” Miller answered.

Monty looked down at him, his heart stuttering in his chest at the fond smile on Miller’s face. Monty set his phone aside before redirecting his attention to Miller, needing to soak up every bit of him that he could on these last couple of days.

Miller had been shirtless like, the whole night, but Monty hadn’t taken the time to really _look_ at him. They were busy. But they had a bit of time until they needed to leave for the aquarium so Monty took the time to memorize as much of him as possible.

Monty brushed his finger up Miller’s forearm, slowly circling he stopped, resting on a small tattoo of the sun. “How many do you have?” Monty asked. His finger starting moving then to all the ones he could see, different tattoos that Miller had, scattered up and down his arms, most of them closer to his shoulders.

“Fourteen,” he answered.

Monty scoffed. “You’re lying.”

“Nope.”

Monty sunk down into the sheets beside him, trying to get over the incredibly affectionate smile on Miller’s face. He had no _right_ looking so tender. With the sun was barely up and the room swathed in light, Miller was softer around the edges. He was looking at Monty through his long eyelashes with the sweetest smile on his face, like he was content to stay in this moment for the rest of the week.

“I want one,” Monty said. “A tattoo.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go tomorrow then,” Miller said. “I’ll get another too.” Miller stretched out, wrapping his arm around Monty’s waist and pulling him back into his arms. “Bellamy and I were talking about a group trip to get tattoos anyway,” Miller elaborated. “As like, a final beach week thing.”

“Mm.”

Monty pressed his forehead to Miller’s chest. He would do it, if they found the time. But that wasn’t what he’d gotten hung up on. It was the fact that Miller said _final_ , and _final_ meant tomorrow was their last real day at the house.

Their last full day together.  

* * *

Seeing all of the couples together was a bit overwhelming for Clarke. It was literally as though the universe was saying _see what you could have?_

Miller and Monty were cuddled side by side on the couch, and Wells was standing between Raven’s legs from where she was perched on the kitchen counter, and Harper and Monroe stumbled up the stairs holdings hands with massive hickeys on both of their necks, and then Jasper turned a crazy shade of pink when Maya pressed a kiss to his cheek. No matter where she turned someone was stationed next to someone else.

 _Follow your instincts and be bold_ , Clarke’s tarot card had read. And like--she wasn’t one to take advice from tarot cards, was she?

But looking out across the room at Bellamy, sipping from his mug and scanning the living room where all of his friends sat happy and together, smiling at the love that filled the room, Clarke didn’t care what the cards said or not.

She knew what she had to do.

* * *

“Stop getting distracted by Monty’s face!” Raven shouted from the back seat.

“I’m _not_ ,” Miller called back. They’d been in the car for the longest time in the entire world and Monty knew that he should’ve brought snacks. The weather made traffic awful and it was like everyone in the entire world had decided to go to the aquarium today because it was raining. “There’s just nowhere for me to _go_ , Raven!”

“You keep letting people cut you off,” she shouted.

“I do not! I just--my fucking-- _honker_ doesn’t work, okay?”

Monty leaned back against the door, turning his body to face Miller’s. “Your honker?” Monty echoed.

Miller glanced at him. “What?”

“It’s called a _horn_ , Nathan.”

Miller laughed. “You knew what I meant.”

Raven groaned. “Stop flirting and drive!”

* * *

Taking the entire group out in public had Clarke on high alert. Bellamy almost leaned in to remind her that it wasn’t their job to be their _babysitters,_  but she also spoke with such authority and intensity that he didn’t want to interrupt.

The aquarium they were at was pretty small, so it wouldn’t take them that long to walk through, but it was raining and they needed to pass the time. “Probably not worth 13 dollars,” Bellamy murmured after they dismissed the kids, watching them charge into the aquarium like a herd of elephants.

Clarke shrugged, lingering back with him. “It’ll still be nice,” she insisted. “Come on, Bell.”

He’d mostly expected her to run off with Raven or Monty, considering she’d been acting _especially_ weird after her tarot cards reading with Monroe, but Bellamy was happy she stayed by his side. They walked slowly through the exhibits, stopping every now and then to really examine whatever it is in the tank.

The two of them spent a pretty long time watching the otters swimming back and forth, and Bellamy got distracted by the sea horses, but again, it was pretty small, so it didn’t take them a long time to get through it.

Besides the jellyfish exhibit that lit up with bubbles and glowing lights that illuminated Clarke’s face, making her literally the brightest thing in the room, Bellamy managed to keep his staring to a minimum. Even though they hadn’t talked about it, Bellamy felt like Clarke had made it pretty clear she didn’t want anything. With just one full day left, he didn’t want to ruin things right before everyone left.

 _Maybe next year_ , Bellamy thought desperately. _If there is a next year_.

Finally they reached the last exhibit, the shark tank, and Clarke was lighting up all over again--this time on her own. “Come on!” she cheered, dragging Bellamy around the corner so they could get a better view of the fish swimming around inside.

And just--fuck everything. Because Clarke was so fucking beautiful and no exhibit was going to detract from that. Her eyes were shining with excitement and she watched the different fish swimming around as though it was a miracle they were even there when in reality Bellamy felt like _she_ was the miracle, like this _week_ was the miracle. It might have been cloudy outside but by her side with a smile on her face, Clarke was as bright as the fucking sun.

She turned to him for just a moment, almost as though she wanted to point something out, when her eyes caught his. The smile slipped from her face.

“Bell,” she said gently.

He dropped his gaze. “No, I know.” Bellamy shook his head. “I know,” he said again, trying to convince himself.

Friends just didn’t look at their friends like that.

“ _Bellamy_ ,” Clarke said again, this time stepping toward him. Something in her voice was different and he looked up, finding her eyes another time. “I have something to say.”

Bellamy swallowed. “Yeah?”

“I’ve said it a few times before,” Clarke admitted, her eyes flickering back to the tank for just a moment before she looked at him again. “Before this week, even.”

“Clarke, you don’t--”

“You are so important to me,” she cut him off. Bellamy was having a hard time looking at her now, but something in her gaze commanded it to be held. “In so many different ways, Bellamy. I know you know that.” He nodded. She’d always made it clear, how much she respected him, how thankful for she was for him. “But I’ve never been very good at…” she trailed off, clearing her throat and standing a bit taller--maybe in an attempt to make her feel braver. “I’ve never been very good at _this_.”

“Clarke,” he said again, his voice lowering.

“And it makes it worse because we live so far apart,” she went on.

“What makes it worse?” he pressed.

“How I feel about you.” Finally she looked away, back to the tank. “I like you, Bellamy. I really--”

Bellamy leaned forward to cup her cheeks, tugging her toward him to cut her off with a kiss. Clarke gasped but opened her mouth against his, reaching up to make sure he didn’t pull away. One of her hands curled into his shirt the other lost in his thick hair, tugging him down more and more, refusing to let him pull away. Bellamy’s heart was still pounding in his chest, hard enough that he was sure it would burst through his ribcage any moment now. And Clarke was just kissing him back, kissing him firmly, kissing him as though she’d planned this entire moment in front of the shark exhibit in the smallest aquarium ever.

Deep in the back of his mind he knew they were in public, that there was probably a child nearby staring, but he couldn’t stop kissing her. He’d waited for this for so long, to taste her lips, to breathe her in, and he couldn’t _stop_.

But then there was cheering.

Clarke had enough sense to pull away and the two of them turned, finding all of their friends sitting on nearby benches in the dark room, almost as though they’d been waiting for Bellamy and Clarke to make it to the end of the aquarium. There was laughter and clapping and _whoops_ and all of them--Wells and Miller and Harper and Raven and Monty and Monroe and Murphy--were smiling.

Before Clarke could react, Bellamy tugged Clarke toward him and propped his chin up on top of her head.

“Okay?” he whispered.

She wound her arms around his waist with a grin, squeezing tight. “Okay,” she answered.

* * *

“Did I tell you or did I tell you?” Miller asked once they got back into the car. “Thursday or Friday. I said Thursday or Friday!”

“I _know_ , Nate,” Monty murmured, rolling his eyes. But he couldn’t stop smiling, not for a second, because he was so damn happy. He was kissing the boy he liked and Clarke was kissing the boy that _she_ liked and Jasper and Maya and Raven and Wells and everyone was _happy_.

They had one, final day for all of them to lay around and embrace what this fandom had given them--each other.

“Which means I totally win the bet,” Miller said. The sun had come out while they were in the aquarium--like the gods had opened up the skies because Bellamy and Clarke had _finally_ gotten their shit together--and Miller couldn’t stop smiling, which meant Monty couldn’t stop smiling, and it was all just too much. “Yeah?”

“What do you win?” Raven called from the back. “A new honker?”

“Oh--shut up!”

Monty reached over to squeeze Miller’s knee. “I’ll make sure you get something special,” he said quietly. Miller’s eyes grew dark with want.

* * *

Clarke wasn’t used to being this overwhelmingly happy.

It was like when Bellamy climbed out of his car and Clarke spotted him for the first time, magnified by a thousand. Every time she looked at him her heart exploded in her chest, and every time he smiled it was like she’d forgotten everything that had ever been said to her in her life.

When they returned home from the aquarium, stopping at Sonic for food on the way, Clarke settled down beside Bellamy on the couch with his arm draped over his shoulder. It was the same as before but different, too. His thumb rubbed circles on her shoulder as she nestled into his side.

Monty turned on season two of _Whispers_ and Clarke was just happy. “Murphy,” Bellamy said as he settled down. “Call the tattoo parlor and make sure we can get in.”

“Aye-aye,” Murphy answered.

Clarke reached over, brushing her fingers over Bellamy’s knuckle as his freehand rested somewhere between them. Bellamy turned then, the two of them close enough that his lips could brush across her temple.

“You okay?” Bellamy whispered.

Clarke turned to him. “You already asked me that,” she whispered back.

“I’m allowed to ask again,” he murmured, earning a smile, returning a smile. It was smiles all around. He leaned up, kissing her temple another time, and Clarke couldn’t believe how this had all turned out.

She fell asleep against Bellamy’s shoulder somewhere in the middle of the second episode and woke up a bit later, the lights in the house dimmed, the sun setting against a cloudy sky. But Bellamy was still beside her, warm and firm, evidently very engrossed in _Whispers_ and their dramatic plot line, still rubbing circles on her shoulder.

“Where’s everyone?” Clarke murmured, surprised at how quiet the house was. Not even Fox’s bright laughter carried up from downstairs, a near-constant these days.

“Around,” Bellamy answered. “A few people went to go see Wonder Woman again,” he told her. “Some people decided to walk to the pier. I think Murphy might be taking a nap.”

Clarke nuzzled back against him. “So it’s just us?”

“Just us,” Bellamy confirmed. He was quiet, the kind of quiet that made Clarke nervous. “What does _us_ mean?” he asked.

Leaning back, Clarke took a deep breath. _Be bold_ , she thought. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had a boyfriend,” she said. “But I’m not opposed.” She looked up just in time to watch him smile the most tender smile. “Does that work?”

“Yeah,” Bellamy answered. “I mean it’s been awhile since I’ve _been_ a boyfriend, but--”

“Shut up,” Clarke said. “We’ve been practically dating for months.”

Bellamy’s smile grew with his laughter as she moved, readjusting herself beside him. “Oh have we?”

“We text every day,” Clarke said, climbing unceremoniously onto his lap. “And we call each other all the time.” Bellamy leaned in, resting his forehead against hers the second she was settled. “And we ask about each other’s day, and we discuss life, and I already always miss you like crazy, and--”

It didn’t matter that it was the second time Bellamy was kissing her, it felt like the first. New and wonderful and overwhelming. Clarke kissed him back trying to put all of the words into it that she’d never said, that she’d never figured out how to say and still wasn’t sure she’d be able to. Her gratitude for his existence, her joy at his excitement, her need for his presence, again and again and again.

“Come on, girlfriend,” Bellamy murmured, sliding his arms around her waist so he could easily hold her. “Let’s make good use of this empty house, hm?”

Clarke was on top of the fucking world.

* * *

By the time Bellamy and Clarke joined everyone on the beach, the moon was high in the sky. The two of them were so fucking dramatic, Miller thought, as they made a big show of Clarke dragging Bellamy down the deck, holding hands.

“Be _happy_ for them,” Monty quietly reprimanded. With a huff, Miller readjusted his grip around Monty’s waist. Monty had settled between Miller’s legs, his back against Miller’s chest. Miller supposed the two of them were being a bit showy, too.

“I am,” Miller murmured back. “That’s not…” he trailed off.

Monty peeled away so he could turn and look at Miller, his eyebrows arched slightly. “That’s not what?” he asked.

Miller shook his head. “I was just thinking about how much time we have left,” he answered. Monty’s lips parted slightly but Miller shook his head. “No--don’t, I just--”

How fucking stupid was it that suddenly worry was winding around Miller’s chest like a snake? Monty, almost as though sensing this, arched up and gently pressed his lips to Miller’s.

“We still have tomorrow,” he whispered against Miller’s mouth.

He nodded back. “We still have tomorrow.”


	7. Friday

Clarke’s first thought upon waking up with Bellamy in her bed, his naked body pressed against hers, his tousled hair tickling her shoulder, was: _there’s no way I’m ever going to get used to this_.

Of course it was immediately followed by the thought of: _you won’t even have the chance_. It was already Friday. With a brief glance at the clock, Clarke realized they wouldn’t even be in the _house_ at this time tomorrow. The thought made her tense and Bellamy stirred, just enough to pull her closer.

“Clarke?” he rasped. He mouthed his way across her neck in a good morning of sorts, easily reminding her to relax without even saying anything. “Everything okay?” he asked gently.

Something inside of Clarke was screaming. But they had today, they still had today, and she was going to make the most of it. So instead she brushed her fingers up his spine, feeling powerful and dangerous at the smile that found Bellamy’s face in response.

“Just happy we’re here,” she answered softly. He kissed her another time, on the collarbone, and she swallowed down every negative thought that was pushing against her skin.

It took them a long time to untangle themselves, due to kissing and groaning and reminding themselves again and again that they weren’t dreaming, but eventually they got out of bed. The feeling of the house was more of the same. Disbelief that it was their last day. Small attempts to clean up here and there. People huddled together looking both sad and happy, trying to ride out that small wave of elation that had followed them to their final day in the house.

Murphy was cooking brunch again and Jasper was out and about making mimosas, but there was something bittersweet about the whole familiarity of it.

“Monty and Miller still in bed?” Bellamy asked as he strode out after Clarke.

“They are,” Jasper said. “And I just won twenty bucks because I bet Murphy they’d be in there longer than you two.”

Clarke rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop her smile.

* * *

Just because they were awake didn’t mean there was any need for them to get out of bed right away. Monty could hear movement in the kitchen, probably Murphy cooking, but Miller was softer in the morning, edges blurred, murmuring tender things that made Monty want to fall in love.

So they stayed in bed, the two of them tangled together, sharing stories from home in an attempt to pull laugher from the other. Miller’s smile was much too warm for someone who’d only _really_ been dating the other for a few days.

“You sleeping in here tonight?” Miller asked.

Monty edged forward, his nose bumping Miller’s, and shrugged a little. “I was going to sleep in my own room actually,” he admitted. He’d spent the last two nights with Miller and while they were a thing now, _boyfriends_ , Monty reminded himself, Jasper was still his best friend. “Is that okay?”

Miller nodded, nose bumping Monty’s another time. “Yeah, baby,” he answered. “Whatever makes you happy.”

Monty grinned, sliding his hand over Miller’s hip. “ _You_ make me happy,” he said. Miller grinned too, leaning in to kiss him. “But it’s my last chance for it, you know?” Miller nodded another time before kissing Monty again, softer than before. “Besides, I know you want to cuddle with Bellamy.”

“Oh,” Miller laughed, “definitely, yes.”

“And I’ll get to see you in like, a month,” Monty hurried on, “right?”

“My trip to Baltimore’s already confirmed,” Miller agreed softly. He’d put in a request at work to be sent on a trip to Baltimore, which was like, twenty minutes away from where Monty lived, for one of the various publishing things his company did. “I got the email this morning,” Miller told him.

Monty grinned. “Really?”

“You were still asleep,” Miller answered, that warm smile still there, and Monty couldn’t shake the way that happiness had it’s grip on him. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Nate!”

Miller laughed, leaning in. “So end of the month,” he exhaled, “we’ll be together again.”

* * *

There were two things that the last full day in the beach house were dedicated to. The first was finishing all of the alcohol that they’d acquired. At the beginning of the week it didn’t feel like enough _at all_. But now, staring at all of the full bottles of wine and vodka and rum, everyone knew they needed to finish it off before tomorrow.

The second was this new show that Raven was in love with called _Camp Ridgely_. The entire first season (except the finale) was online and easily accessible and she claimed that like, no one was watching it, which was unacceptable.

“Is it really a good idea for us to get invested in another TV show?” Wells asked from where he was perched at the counter.

Raven shrugged. “If I’m going down, you’re all going down with me.”

It was a feel-good show about these counselors who worked at a summer camp trying to figure out their own lives while supporting one another. Of course there were secrets and lies and drama but it was fun, it was something they’d be able to take with them once they left the beach.

Bellamy was only paying half a mind of attention and it seemed like Clarke was doing the same. They were squished next to each other on the couch, his arm draped around her shoulder while she finally finished the art she was working on for their group. She was almost done and it was _beautiful_ , had all of the main characters from the show on the beach and just lovely and--

“You’re incredible,” Bellamy murmured softly. Clarke smiled, ducking her head a bit, but he tugged her closer and leaned to kiss her temple. “You are,” he insisted.

“Thank you.”

He swallowed, glancing around the room to see how invested everyone was in the show, before turning back to Clarke and lowering his voice. “You’ve said it,” he whispered as softly as he could. “How important I am to you, or whatever. But Clarke…” She tensed as he trailed off as though waiting for him to continue. “It’s the same for me.”

Clarke continued working on her art, a small smile finding her face. “After last night,” she responded, just as softly, “I could have gathered.”

The two of them in her bed, legs wound around one another, moonlight illuminating the room as they just gazed into one another’s eyes as though they were the only person on this planet who even mattered. Kisses shared between the two of them as though they were passing secrets. Bellamy groaning out her name, Clarke gasping out his, neither of them needing to elaborate.

Bellamy pulled her closer. “I just wanted to say it, too.”

 _I love you_ still felt much too soon. And yet still it was there in the back of his throat. Besides, there were so many types of love. This week proved that. And in a way, he did love Clarke already. There was just still more love to grow.

“You didn’t have to,” she returned. “But I’m glad.”

* * *

Miller really liked Raven’s new show. Monty knew this because instead of paying any attention to him, Miller was staring at the screen with that _look_ on his face, like he was analyzing everything twice over. Maya had perched herself on Jasper’s lap to watch the new episode and Harper and Monroe had gone to the beach with Murphy and Monty wanted more attention than he was getting.

He distracted himself by tracing his finger up Miller’s arm, over more of his tattoos, half-watching this new show that seemed like fun even if Monty’s whole heart wasn’t in at the moment.

“Weren’t we supposed to be getting tattoos today?” Monty asked.

“The only place we could find was booked up,” Miller muttered as though he was annoyed at this. As though he didn’t already have a bazillion tattoos and not getting another one was a problem. “So we couldn’t.”

Monty frowned. “I really wanted one,” he murmured, mostly to himself. Miller turned to him then, his eyes finally off of the small screen that had Hulu up and on Monty. “I don’t have any,” Monty explained, trying to keep his voice down as to not detract from whoever was actually watching. “I was psyching myself up.”

“We’ll get one when I come to visit,” Miller told him softly. “Hm? Gives you more time to think about it.” Monty nodded but something heavy settled in his chest. “Hey,” Miller said softly, his eyebrows pulling together. Monty’s face must’ve flickered with something--sadness of a sorts. He scanned the room for a moment before standing, offering his hand to Monty and tugging him from the room, out onto the porch. The second they were outside, even with the warmth of the day (because it _finally_ wasn’t cloudy), Monty wrapped his arms around himself. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Monty said, shaking his head. “I just--I was looking forward to it, you know?” Monty dropped his head, looking down to the porch. “Something for all of us to do together,” he carried on. “It’s our last day.”

There was more to it, more that Monty couldn’t voice yet because he was trying his hardest not to get upset on their last day, but Miller could see it on his face. Miller strode to him and reached up, cupping Monty’s cheek gently.

“Just because we leave here,” Miller said evenly, “doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Just because we don’t--I don’t know, mark our bodies, doesn’t mean we’re going to forget.”

Monty nodded, leaning into Miller’s hand. “I know.”

Miller let out a soft breath, Monty’s sadness reflected back to him in Miller’s eyes. “Let’s put a message in the chat,” Miller finally said. “All of us can go out for ice cream or something. One last thing altogether.” Monty nodded again and Miller brushed his thumb over Monty’s chin. “It’s not a tattoo, but--”

“No, it’s great,” Monty said. “Thank you. You’re--thank you.”

* * *

Bellamy was sure that he and Clarke would’ve rallied the troops to do one last final outing together, but he was glad that Miller had sent out the message in the group chat. He and Monty climbed into the back of Bellamy’s van, Raven and Wells in the seats behind them with Clarke in shotgun, and off they started for their last trip.

Ice cream was easy enough to find on the shore but it wasn’t really about getting ice cream, it was about being together. Bellamy knew that as he glanced in his rearview mirror and found Wells brushing Raven’s hair from her face with a smile. Bellamy knew that as he watched Monty tracing his fingers over the back of Miller’s hand, over his knuckles, while Miller looked on both fond and achingly. Bellamy knew that as he turned to Clarke holding out her phone to get a photo of all of them in the back with smiles on their face, both happy and sad all at once.

When they arrived everyone climbed out and for maybe the final time, Bellamy just reflected on how amazing the week had been.

Monty strode across the parking lot to greet Jasper and Raven linger back to walk beside Clarke and there were just so many friendships that had been given the chance to blossom that Bellamy couldn’t stop being overwhelmingly _proud_. He’d been part of this. He and Clarke had _created_ this.

“I know we’ve been here a week,” Miller said, falling into step beside Bellamy. “But it’s still insane. That we’re all here.”

Bellamy looked out across as all of his friends entered the ice cream shop one by one.

“It really is,” he agreed.

* * *

Many people headed back inside to watch another episode of _Camp Ridgely_ but Clarke had finally finished her drawing and she wanted to head outside. She was only on the porch for a moment before Monty followed her, and then Bellamy and Miller were right behind them.

They went straight for the beach, Miller by her side and Monty and Bellamy a few yards on front of them talking about something and laughing to each other. Clarke didn’t have as much time this week with Miller as she would’ve hoped.

“There’re just so many people here,” Clarke said after voicing this. “It felt like I didn’t get enough time with anyone.”

“Except Bellamy,” Miller joked.

Clarke smiled, ducking her head. “Well you’ve spent a lot of time with Monty,” she returned. “So that’s hardly fair.” Miller smiled back, both of them turning to watch Monty and Bellamy ducking down to grab various shells to toss back into the ocean. “We lucked out.”

“Fucking yeah we did,” Miller agreed.

Clarke looked over her shoulder, watching their footprints getting washed away by the sand. “You and him are going to try and make it work then?” she asked, and Miller nodded.

“The publishing company I work for does a lot of work in Baltimore,” Miller told her. “It’s like a twenty minute drive from where Monty lives. And they’ve been wanting me to do more traveling anyway.” He shrugged his shoulders before stuffing his hands into his pockets. “It’s not going to be as often as I’d like,” Miller admitted, “but it’s something.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean I’d always…” Miller trailed off and Clarke looked to him with high eyebrows. He looked sheepish but finally continued on anyway. “I’d always kind of liked him,” Miller finally murmured, eyes on the ground. “We talked practically every day--more so once we exchanged Snapchats. But you never think that you’ll actually meet the people you care about and…”

Clarke looked up to Bellamy who was now bending down into the water, laughing wildly as he splashed water in Monty’s direction.

“And really fall for them,” Clarke finished.

Miller swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I know what you mean.”

* * *

Everyone gathered on the porch or the beach to watch the sunset and Bellamy wound his arms around Clarke’s waist as they watched the sky fill with impossible reds and oranges. He had his chin on her shoulder and she couldn’t stop smiling and the word _love_ came to Bellamy’s mind another time.

“We should wake up for the sunrise,” he murmured.

“Mm. Yes.” Clarke nodded. “That’d be nice.”

“Then crawl back into bed and sleep for another two hours,” he added.

She laughed. “Yeah, let’s do that.” He turned, pressing a kiss to the side of her face, and her smile softened. “Did you know that Miller’s work is going to send him to Baltimore?” she asked after a moment.

Bellamy thought for a second. “Monty lives near there, right?”

“Yeah. But we don’t--work doesn’t send us close to each other.” Bellamy nuzzled closer and Clarke reached down to cover his arms. “How’s that make you feel?” she asked.

“Jealous,” he admitted. Their jobs didn’t permit them to do that, really. To travel. “But--Clarke,” he murmured, his voice lowering. “We’ll figure it out. We have _time_.” She nodded and he tried to get closer, if possible. “I don’t…” they hadn’t really talked about it, about her previous relationship, and they were far enough away from others that he felt like he could now. “I want this to last,” he said. “I’m--Clarke, I’m willing to put in the work.”

She turned in his grasp so she could look up at him. “Me too,” she said. “Of course, Bellamy. You think I’m not?”

“No, that’s--no.” He shook his head. “That sounded like what you were going for.” He lowered his voice again but kept it strong. “I’m not like her,” he said. Clarke looked away but he reached forward, cupping her cheek to keep her chin up. “I won’t do what she did.”

“I know,” Clarke said. “I know that.”

She didn’t have to say it, Bellamy could hear it in her voice. She _knew_ that Bellamy wouldn’t hurt her the way she’d been hurt in the past. But she was still afraid.

“Raven works for an airline,” Bellamy reminded her. “We’ll figure it out. Promise.”

A smile bloomed on her face then, one that was sure, and Bellamy felt it in his chest. “I trust you,” she said.

He could feel it in his bones.

* * *

Miller was the biggest nerd in the world. Like, Monty knew that before his obsession with _Whispers of the Future_ and the fact that he’d admitted to reading like, all of Monty’s fic ever, but that night as everyone was crawling back into bed for the last time, Miller walked Monty to his freaking bedroom door.

“I’ll be alone in bed tonight,” Miller reminded him gently, brushing Monty’s hair from his face. “So if you ever want to come up…”

“I know, I know.”

Wells and Raven were sharing and Murphy had claimed a couch or something and Bellamy and Clarke had claimed their bed as well so unless Atom or Murphy stumbled into Miller’s room he’d be there by himself since Monty was back to sharing with Jasper. Monty’d originally feared that Miller would be lonely but Miller insisted he didn’t mind. He had a lot of driving to do and knew that Bellamy and Clarke needed their time together so it was okay.

“Just saying.”

Monty pressed himself onto his toes to kiss Miller, thankful for the few inches of height difference between them, thankful for when Miller followed Monty down as he pulled away.

“You didn’t have to walk to me to my _door_ , Nate,” Monty exhaled.

“Just trying to stretch out time,” Miller murmured. Another kiss. “When I come to Baltimore,” Miller carried on, “we’ll go on a real date, yeah?”

“This whole week didn’t count as a date?” Monty asked.

“Nope. I mean--group date with like, fucking everyone else, maybe. But just us.”

Monty couldn’t stop smiling. “I really like you,” he said, and Miller smiled too. “I’m so… just, goddamn happy, Nate.”

“Me too,” Miller whispered back. He pressed his forehead to Monty’s and there was a look in his eyes, something so warm and magical that it reminded Monty of the night they arrived, their insides all set aflame with excitement. _This’ll last,_ Monty thought. “Get some sleep,” Miller said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

A few kisses later Monty slipped into his room, still shaking his head at the fact that _Miller walked him to his room,_ and found Jasper waiting up for him with a dopey smile on his face.

“Did Miller walk you to our room?”

Monty grinned. “Yeah.”

“Gross.”

“I know,” Monty agreed. But both of them were smiling. “How’s Maya?”

“Probably the best thing to ever happen to me,” Jasper told him. “We’re lucky as hell,” Jasper said, “aren’t we?”

“We are,” Monty said with a nod before flinging himself into bed. “C’mere.” Jasper wiggled up next to him and Monty sighed. “Night, Jasper,” he said.

“Night Monty.”

They fell asleep together, not thinking about what tomorrow might bring.


	8. Saturday Morning

Monty tried to fight off waking up for as long as possible, but he knew it was stupid. His bags were packed, Wells wanted to leave as soon as possible, and pretending the morning hadn’t come was not going to stop the morning from coming.

He opened his eyes and laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. This was it.

This was the last time he’d see some of these people possibly forever, the last time he’d see others for a long time. The last time he’d get to kiss Miller for another month, the last time he’d hold Jasper in his arms, the last time he’d watch Raven light up the room with a smile, the last time he’d get to see Bellamy make Clarke laugh.

Everything inside of him ached.

But he knew he should load up Wells’ car, so instead of laying there and wishing and wishing and wishing, Monty swung his legs over the side of the bed as quietly as he could as to not wake Jasper. It was a stupid plan but he didn’t want to disturb his friend, especially because his drive was a lot longer than Monty’s own and he needed to rest for as long as possible.

The second he moved, however, Jasper sat up straight. “You’re leaving without saying goodbye?” he slurred, his words blurring together from sleep.

“Of course not,” Monty murmured. “I just didn’t want to wake you.”

Jasper huffed, rubbing at his eyes. “Last night together and you’re trying to sneak out!”

“It’s not night anymore,” Monty told him. “It’s time to go.” Jasper dropped his hands to his lap and let out a deep breath, the frown on his face way too pronounced for Monty to look directly at him. “I’m going to load my stuff into Wells’ car,” Monty explained. “I’ll still get to see you.”

“Ugh.” Jasper huffed another time. “Yeah. Fine.”

He sounded annoyed but--God, it was just easier this way. Tears were already stinging Monty’s eyes and Jasper had to know he was upset, that this was just Monty’s way of dealing with leaving.

“I’ll be back,” Monty said, reaching down to grab his duffel and swing it over his shoulder.

 _“Wait!”_ Jasper shrieked suddenly. Monty paused in the doorway, already sad that he had to leave his best fucking friend and climb into a car and drive away with possibly a very long time inbetween the next time he saw him. “Wait,” Jasper said again, voice thick, and it was now that Monty realized Jasper must not be _annoyed_ , but rather, just as upset as Monty was.

“Yeah, Jas?” Monty asked, finally turning around.

“We never jumped on the bed,” Jasper said.

Monty couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of him. “You’re right,” he said, “we never did.”

Jasper was on his feet in an instant and Monty dropped his bag with a satisfying thud, racing across the room to spring himself onto the bed. He couldn’t remember the last time he jumped on the bed and truth be told, he still wasn’t entirely awake, so he sort of stumbled into Jasper with a laugh. But then they were jumping, the bed creaking in protest, the two of them laughing with abandon, always trying to make the other go higher and higher. They touched the ceiling, they propelled one another upwards, and after just a few minutes they were both panting and tired.

Jasper stopped first and Monty stopped second and they were then both quiet, smiles lingering on their faces for just a moment before they faded.

The next moment, Monty was enveloped in Jasper’s arms. Every ounce of happiness and joy that had just been flowing through his body was gone and the sadness crept in, thick and heavy. Monty squeezed his eyes shut and wound his arms back around Jasper and again he was fighting off tears. He couldn’t let Jasper see him cry.

“Tell me you love me,” Jasper said, voice thick.

_“Jasper.”_

“Say you love me or you’re gonna regret it,” Jasper murmured, his arms tight around Monty, tighter still, the two of them rigid and blue.

“I _do_ love you,” Monty murmured back.

“I love you too.”

“And we’re going to see each other soon,” Monty insisted, frustrated at the crack in his voice. “We already have our tickets for that con.”

“I know, I know.” Jasper sniffled. “I know. It’s just.”

“I know,” Monty croaked.

Leaving people you loved was always hard.

* * *

When Bellamy woke up in the morning to find Clarke looking at him. He wondered if she’d slept at all after they climbed back in bed after seeing the sunrise. When Bellamy’s phone had chimed that morning he was convinced Clarke wasn’t going to make it out of bed, but soon they were on the porch with nothing but the sound of the crashing waves and the morning birds.

“It’s beautiful,” Clarke had said. _You’re beautiful_ , Bellamy had thought.

They’d kissed with the sun sneaking up over the horizon, soft and sweet, before hurrying back to bed to get a few more hours of shut-eye before their long day.

“Morning,” Bellamy murmured, blinking to rouse himself. “Are you watching me sleep?”

“Maybe,” she admitted.

He smiled, reaching forward to brush her hair from her face. “Ready for this?” he asked.

Clarke shook her head, eyebrows furrowing. “Not at all.”

* * *

The second that Monty had thrown his bag into Wells’ car, he rushed upstairs to Miller’s bedroom. Miller was in the bathroom, water running, when Monty arrived so he waited, perched on the edge of the bed. Only a few minutes passed before Miller exited, patting his face dry on a towel.

“Hi,” Monty burst.

Miller lowered the towel, a smile finding his face. “Good morning to you too,” he said. But his smile faded the closer he got. Slowly Miller asked, “Are you okay?”

Monty couldn’t let Jasper see him cry but here with Miller he didn’t mind, he couldn’t fight it any longer, and the sadness inside of him was winning.

“I’m sad,” Monty said, clear as day, and watched as Miller tensed. “And--God, Nate I can feel it in my _ribs_ ,” Monty croaked, his eyes welling with tears. “Jasper’s still ten feet away and I already miss him like crazy how am I supposed to just--”

“Hey, hey,” Miller stepped forward, cutting off his ramble by placing his hands on his shoulder. Monty let out a long, steady breath. “You don’t need to _see_ someone to still have them in your life.”

“ _Nate_.”

He reached up, cupping Monty’s cheek. “You don’t,” he said again. “I’ll see you--we’ll see each other in a month or so,” Miller murmured. “And Jasper--you’ll see him soon, Monty. Remember?”

Monty blinked hard but nodded, his eyebrows furrowed together as though he was stubbornly trying not to cry. “Yeah,” he rasped. “I know.” But while he’d miss Jasper, that wasn’t just what he was worried about. “Just. Nate,” he said again. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to do _this._ ”

Miller brushed his thumb over Monty’s chin. “Me and you?” he asked.

Monty reached forward and wound his arms around Miller’s waist. “I know I don’t need to see you to have you in my life, but I’m--I _want_ to see you. I want to freaking…” he trailed off, not even knowing what he wanted to say. He wanted to wake up with Miller by his side, he wanted to kiss the daylights out of him, he wanted to run his fingers against Miller’s scruff until his scowl twisted into a smirk. “I just don’t know how,” Monty said again.

He’d expressed it earlier in the week, that he’d never done long distance before, but now that they were literally about to climb into their cars it was hitting him like a wave, knocking him down onto the beach that he wanted to stay on for the rest of his life.

“Day by day,” Miller told him. “We do it day by day, Monty.”

Monty pressed his face into Miller’s shoulder, tears finally leaking. “Okay,” he whispered. Miller reached up and cupped the back of his head. “Day by day.”

* * *

Clarke didn’t have time to let emotions get the best of her.

Bellamy tried being soft and warm and great but Clarke climbed out of bed, ready to clean the entire house, to get all of them out before 10am, ideally before _9am_ , and if she lingered on the fact that they were leaving she would fall apart. She’d let these people into her heart and now she had to leave them and she couldn’t let it get to her.

She’d simply climbed out of bed and gotten to work, going around to every room to make sure everyone was awake, texting the cleaning rules in the group chat, and then packing up all of her stuff.

It was nearly 8:30 when she took a moment to herself, heading out on to the beach one last time. The sand was already warm from the sun but it wasn’t burning her feet. Instead it was just comfortable. Familiar. She strode out to the waves and let them lap at her ankles and let out a long breath.

Months of planning for one wonderful week. And now it was over.

“There you are,” she heard, turning to find Raven hurrying down the steps toward the sand. Clarke smiled before returning to the ocean. “I think everyone’s cars are packed. They’re just waiting for you.”

Clarke swallowed. “Yeah. Just needed a moment.”

Raven kicked off her shoes and stood beside Clarke, also letting the waves wash over her feet. “This was really great, Clarke,” Raven said. There was a lump in Clarke’s throat that she couldn’t swallow. “I’m serious. This was--I know we all kind of partnered off after a bit or whatever but getting to meet all my friends--you? This was incredible. This was because of you.”

Clarke’s chin quivered. “Yeah,” she said again.

Raven didn’t acknowledge the sudden tears that fell or the way Clarke’s voice shook, she just stood closer and wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist. The two of them leaned into each other and Clarke blinked again and again and Raven just held her silently. They stood by the water, the first two of them to arrive now the last two to leave, and waited until they were ready.

* * *

Miller was by Monty’s side after Clarke did the final sweep of the house, outside waiting for her to come and give her farewell. Jasper was on the other side and Monty was holding both of their hands, though he was leaning against Miller, and Miller suspected Monty was only rubbing his thumb against Miller’s knuckles and not Jasper’s.

The spot beside Bellamy was open and Clarke came out soon enough. Her eyes were rimmed with red though no one would dare call her out on it and even though the sadness in the air was palpable, the finality of this was finally here, that same sense of joy that had been lingering since the first day still remained. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the sound of the waves was still there--though fainter on the other side of the house.

“Well,” Clarke finally announced. “This is it.” Bellamy reached out to grab her hand. “I just want to say thank you,” she said slowly. “None of this would’ve been possible without any of you trusting me enough to make the trip or willing enough to take a risk.” She smiled, looking up at the house, before turning back to everyone. “I wish that I knew what to say,” Clarke carried on. “I wish I could really, seriously figure out what to say.”

“We love you!” Jasper cheered from where he stood, and then people started to clap.

Clarke ducked her head. “Yeah,” she said. “I love you guys too. All of you. I mean.” She shrugged. “I drew this--um, this piece for us that I’m going to mail to all of you in a bit. So you can have like a tangible thing from the week. But it’s the characters of _Whispers_ and they’re all at the beach like us and it’s just--I wanted you all to have something. I’ll send it in the group text in a bit.”

“It’s really amazing,” Bellamy told them. “I’ve already seen it.”

“Of course you have,” Murphy called back.

“I’m not the speech person,” Clarke finally said. “That’s always been Bellamy. But I just wanted to say thank you. And I love you.”

Fox was the first to rush forward but then Wells was there, and Maya and Monroe and Harper, and soon everyone had wrapped themselves around Clarke in the biggest and best group hug ever. Monty was near the back with Miller and they were both quiet, side by side, sad and happy all at once.

When they broke apart Clarke’s eyes looked wet again but everyone started heading to their own cars. Monty’s hand slipped from Miller’s as he followed after Jasper, the two of them in quiet conversation about something or other, before they hugged one final time. Jasper planted a warm kiss on Monty’s forehead and Miller smiled.

“You take care of him,” Jasper said, pointing at Miller as the two of them separated.

“You know I will,” Miller said gently. Jasper went off after Maya and Monty turned back to Miller, the two of them standing just a few feet apart now. Miller shook his head slowly, still in disbelief that Monty wanted to be with him, that Monty had decided he wanted Miller in his life after this week had ended. “You okay?” Miller asked softly.

Monty let out a long breath but nodded. “Yeah.”

“Text me,” Miller murmured, “okay?”

“No I’m just never going to ever talk to you again, Nate,” Monty joked. But even as a joke Miller didn’t like it. He stepped forward and pressed his lips firmly to Monty’s, reveling in the soft sigh that followed. “You’ll be driving,” Monty mumbled.

Miller kissed him another time. “ _Text me_ ,” he said again. Monty pressed himself on his toes to lengthen the kiss and Miller knew it wouldn’t be enough. That the moment they climbed into their cars he’d already be counting down the days until he saw Monty again. “Monty,” Miller exhaled as his boyfriend pulled away. “I…”

Monty kissed him once more. Miller wasn’t even sure what he was going to say but still he felt it to be true when Monty said, “I know. Me too.”

* * *

Bellamy lingered as Clarke gave all of her goodbye hugs. One for Miller, one for Murphy, one for Monty, one for Wells. But Bellamy wanted to be the last, and by the way she kept looking at him he thought maybe she felt the same.

“Drive safe, yeah?” Miller said as he hugged Bellamy as well.

“Raven got Jasper hooked on _Don’t Stop Me Now_ ,” Bellamy told him, “so I think I’ll be awake, at least.”

Miller grinned. “I’m glad things worked out for you,” he said.

“Me too. And for you.” They pat each other’s shoulders and nodded their heads toward one another. “See you soon?” Bellamy wondered.

Miller’s grin grew. “One day,” Miller said.

And then finally it was down to just Bellamy and Clarke needing to climb into their cars. Miller drove away and Wells drove away and both of their cars were started but they were just there, standing a few feet apart from each other, needing to leave as well.

He swallowed.

“Don’t make me wait another year to see you again,” Bellamy said softly as he strode out to meet her. “Because one year turns into two, turns into six, and I just--I don’t want to go that long without seeing you again.”

Clarke shook her head at him. “I’d never make you wait that long,” she promised. Both of their lives were crazy busy, Bellamy knew that as she stepped forward and wound her arms around him, squeezing tightly, but he also knew that they’d figure it out. There was no set date, not yet, but in his heart Bellamy knew it wouldn’t be that long. He reached up, his hand trailing down her braid, and held her close. “I already miss you,” Clarke rasped.

He knew that they would all the memories of this week cemented in their brains. They had photos and stories and fic to follow them for whenever everyone missed one another, whenever anyone wanted to think back. But actually being here in this house with these people--nothing would ever compare.

Of course he would miss Clarke the most, but he loved _everyone_ who’d been there this week.

He loved waking up and listening to the house come alive. He loved waiting for the sun to climb over the ocean and greet them in the mornings. He loved the sound of the waves crashing, only interrupted by the insistent laughter of his friends. More than anything, he loved that some shitty little TV show had given them characters to love and to _root_ for and believe in, characters that convinced numerous strangers from across the country to find their way to the same place for one week of joy and friendship just because they all cared for the same fictional people.

“I’ll see you soon,” Bellamy promised.

No words would ever be able to express his gratitude for what had happened in that house on the shore.

It was magical. It was absolutely magical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


End file.
